


Olivia.

by PhoenixSmoke



Series: 500 years in the making. [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Declarations Of Love, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Original Female Character, Serial Killers, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Spencer Reid Fluff, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 59
Words: 67,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27787315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixSmoke/pseuds/PhoenixSmoke
Summary: Olivia Kallis is a brand new profiler that Hotch brings in to join the BAU.She's a badass.She's got a story.And Spencer Reid thinks she's beautiful.Similar to my other works, I create new characters and weave them into the world of Criminal Minds. I don't own any of the original dialogue, I just play with it.
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Series: 500 years in the making. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032945
Comments: 24
Kudos: 131





	1. The Last Word

**Author's Note:**

> This work occurs right when Emily would have been replacing Elle in season 2. Except in this version, there is no Elle. (Not my favourite character) and Emily has been working there since the beginning.

Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner was working at his desk first thing in the morning when someone knocked on his door. "Come in." He said, not yet looking up from the papers in front of him. The door opened and a feminine voice answered, "Long time no see, boss.".

His head shot up and a smile crossed his features. "Hey!" He said, taking in the woman in his doorway. She had long dark curls falling down her back and a warm olive complexion that glowed like she had been out in the sun recently. Hotch stood and walked around his desk to wrap the woman into a tight hug. "I didn't think you were going to be here until tomorrow."

She laughed, "You know me. Always two steps ahead." 

The two stepped away from each other and he looked over her face. "You look good, Olivia. How are you?"

The younger woman smiled. "I'm great, actually. I'm excited to be here. How's Hailey, I heard you guys had a baby?'

Hotch chuckled, "Yeah we did. His name is Jack. He's great, she's amazing."

"I'm happy for you, Aaron." She smiled. 

"When was the last time you were in Quantico?" He asked, changing the subject. 

She looked out the window at the bullpen that was starting to fill with people. "Um, it's been a few years. But the BAU office is new to me. I could sure use a tour." 

At that moment, a pretty blonde woman in well-tailored clothing knocked on the door before opening it. "Oh, excuse me. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, that's alright, J.J. Meet SSA Olivia Kallis, she's going to be joining the team. Liv, this is SSA Jennifer Jareau, our liaison. "

"Pleasure to meet you." Olivia smiled warmly as she shook the woman's hand.

"It's all mine." J.J. Replied, before looking over at Hotch, "Sorry to dampen the mood, but we've got a case." 

"Right." Aaron said, looking at Olivia. "You ready for this? I know your start date isn't until tomorrow."

"What better time to jump right in?" She said smiling. "Can I leave my box here?" She asked, pointing to the carton at her feet. 

"Of course." Hotch said, ushering her out the door and across the catwalk towards the roundtable room. They walked into the large space where the rest of the team was waiting patiently in their seats around the room, their attention immediately occupied when they entered. 

"Everyone this is-"

"Olivia." Gideon said from the side table where he was making a cup of tea. "Jason." She greeted as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and handed her a cup. "You look terrible." He said sarcastically to the amusement of the others in the room. "I look better than you." She quipped back as the team chuckled.

"Alright, alright." Hotch said as he took a seat and the others followed suit. "As I was saying, this is SSA Olivia Kallis, she is our newest addition to the team. We used to work together in the Seattle field office, she comes to us from the Crisis Negotiations Unit. We will give you more time to get to know one another later, but for now- J.J?"

Everyone in the room turned to the blonde beside the board. "St. Louis needs our help. They've got two serial killers."

Gideon stood up from his seat and walked toward the board. "This killer abducts his victim from public places, dumps them in the woods. They consulted us months ago after the third murder. "

"Well now it might be up to six." J.J. said, pointing her remote at the screen. "Ellen Carroll's ben missing since yesterday. The first two victims were found near Mill Creek, in Mark Twain National Forest."

"No wonder it takes days to find the bodies, the forest is 1.5 million acres." The man in front of Olivia said as he leaned forward, examining the map in front of him. 

"What's the story on these women?" Olivia asked, looking at the case file. "8 victims, all prostitutes." J.J supplied, "The latest is Marci Mitchel, she was killed last night with a .44 magnum. All are tied to a seral shooter claiming responsibility. He's contacted Jim Meyers, a reporter at the Missouri Herald."

"So he's not getting the attention he thinks he deserves." Hotch added. 

"He signs it, The Hollow Man, names himself for the press. That's interesting." Olivia said. 

"Why Hollow Man? What, he feel empty inside or something?" Another agent asked. 

"He uses hollow point bullets." J.J responded, causing a lull of silence in the room. 

"And the victims he's chosen. They all go unnoticed because they're social outcasts. They'll never make the front page. " Another woman with dark hair spoke up. 

"When Mill Creek kills, the Hollow Man shoots another prostitute." The young man with glasses added. "One doesn't want to be outdone by the other."

"Sounds like sibling rivalry."

"They've been killing independently of each other for a year now." Hotch clarified. 

Gideon spoke up again, "With each kill, they're learning something. From the other."

The unit chief turned to Olivia once again. "You have a go-bag?" 

"Who are you talking to?" She shot back cheekily and he nodded. "Wheels up in thirty."


	2. The Last Word pt.2

Immediately all the agents in the room stood up and gathered their things. The young agent with glasses and a boyish face turned to her and held out his hand. "I'm Spencer Reid." He introduced. Oblivious to the fact that several eyebrows around the room shot up around them.

"Olivia." She replied taking his hand in hers. "You're Greek." He observed bluntly, looking into her dark eyes.

"What gave it away?" She teased as she surveyed him in his long brown coat, vest and tie. Very proper. "You're Doctor Reid." She clarified. "Uh, yes, I am." 

"I've read your Psych article." 

"Really? Um... I-I think you may be one of three people that have. Where did you go?" 

"UVA."

"So it's good to be home then, huh?" The tall agent beside her interjected. He held out his hand, "Derek Morgan."

"It's very good. Pleasure to meet you." 

"Emily Prentiss." The young woman with dark hair, said from across the table. "Oh! You're Ambassador Prentiss' daughter." She said and the stopped herself at the look on her face. "I'm sorry- you must hate that." 

"I do, but you get used to it."

"I'm sorry." 

"I'll let it slide this one time." Emily said smiling.

"Deal. Um..." Olivia looked around between J.J. And Emily. "How do I get to the jet?"

"Come with us." J.J. Said, looping her arm in hers. "You're coming in the lady vehicle."

"Perfect." Olivia smiled, tucking the case file under her arm before turning back to the men. "I'll see you on the plane."

"See you." Derek waved his file at her before turning to Reid as they left the room. "What was that?" He asked pointedly.

"Wha- what was what?"

"Mr. I-Don't-Shake-Hands-Pretty-Boy is the first one in line?"

"I-I was being friendly!" Reid stuttered, his face turning pink. 

"Mmmhmmm."

***

The ladies were the first ones on the plane. JJ led the way up the stairs as Olivia took it all in. "Well shit, Hotch was right. You do travel in style." Emily laughed and placed her go bag in one of the compartments. Before joining them in three seats around the table. "Is that what he told you?" 

"It was one of his selling points." Olivia smiled and they watched Reid and Morgan take their seats, Spencer's face blushing slightly when he caught her eye. Aaron and Jason were the last to arrive and sat in the remaining spots. Hotch looked over at her and cocked his head. "I wasn't kidding." He said, inspiring small chuckles from the three women. 

They all settled in as the jet took off, once they were comfortable up in the air, the unit chief turned to the group, "Let's get started. Reid?" He asked, noticing that the young man was fidgeting with his case file. 

"Even though there are approximately 30 serial killers operating at any given time in the United States, it's an incredibly rare occurrence to have them active in the same city."

"How many times has that happened?" J.J asked. 

"To my knowledge three times, there was a guy killing at the same time as the Son of Sam, and then New Orleans and most recently with the Phoenix murders."

"Serial shooters are typically loners, and this guy likes to kill at night. His victims are prostitutes, so he may lack confidence with women, or have poor social skills."

"There was no rape." Derek added, "He could be impotent." 

"He's a wannabe tough guy." Gideon said, "It's not hard to be tough holding a .44." J.J scoffed. 

"The gun gives him power and let's him maintain distance from the kill. This guy doesn't want to touch the bodies with his hands." 

"Okay, Mill Creek killer." Gideon said, coming to sit closer. "Hunts during the day, targets educated, middle class women. He'd have to look and act like they do." 

"These women died from blunt force head traumas." Olivia read, "This guy is exactly the opposite- he wants to be close, wants to feel them die."

"I'm gonna see if the shooter's victims have any family I can talk to." Hotch said, looking around. "Emily, come with me. Reid, can you take a look at the letter for handwriting analysis and psycho linguistics?" 

"Of course."

"Take Olivia with you." Reid nodded, actively ignoring Morgan's gaze. 

"Derek and I will study Mill Creek, we'll have a talk with Ellen Carrol's husband." Gideon said.

"I'm meeting with Jim Myers, the reporter from the Missouri Harrold." J.J added. "Tell him not to write about the Hollow man." Gideon mentioned, "We want to draw the shooter out. Best way to do that is to act like he doesn't exist."

***


	3. The Last Word pt.4

They pulled up to the location and climbed out of the SUV. They saw the rest of the team nearby and made their way over. "Agents Gideon, Morgan, this is agent Sheridan." JJ introduced. 

"Hey, how are you doing? Forgive the gloves." Gideon greeted. "How far is the abduction site from these woods?" Morgan asked. 

"About forty miles or so." The agent responded. Olivia pulled on her own pair of gloves and glanced down at the body, partially covered in leaves. 

"He tried to hide her pretty well." Morgan surmised. 

"And very carefully." Olivia added as JJ dabbed at the lipstick on her lips. "This lipsticks been applied recently." She observed. 

"Yeah, it's still wet." Olivia said, studying the swab. "Her hair has been cared for too, he brushed it back." 

"I mean she was abducted, what an hour from here? Dragged through these woods? She would not look like this." JJ added. 

Morgan crouched down. "So he keeps her safe from the elements, and then comes back to the body. That's why he chooses a secondary location that's so remote. "

"This isn't about remorse." Olivia said. 

"No. He wants to be alone with her. He needs his privacy." Gideon finished. 

"Sex acts with dead bodies are rare occurrences." Morgan said, "But I mean, Bundy did it regularly."

"So how is this gonna help us catch him?" The agent asked. 

"Now we know he has a ritual. He needs to defile the bodies. Next time we'll be here waiting for him." Gideon answered. 

Derek felt his phone buzz and flipped it open, checking the screen. "Time to head to the hotel and regroup." He said. The rest nodded. "We'll have more evidence in the morning once CSU processes the body."

*** 

The drive back to the hotel was short, both SUVs arriving at more or less the same time. Everyone climbed out and grabbed their bags before JJ headed to the check-in desk. A few moments later she returned and handed out the key cards. 

"We're all on the third floor." she said as they headed for the elevators. They all stood there for a moment in silence before Morgan exclaimed, "Shoot! I didn't even prep you for your first crime scene!" 

Olivia laughed as the door opened, "It wasn't my first. You're fine." 

"Really? What was?" Emily asked. 

"Floater out in Seattle. You want to talk about bad smells?" Several grimaces sprang up and she laughed. "This is why I didn't bring it up at dinner." 

"Thank you for that." Hotchner said as he headed to his door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." The others called out before heading to their own doors. Olivia's room was between Reid and Derek's doors. "Goodnight, shorty." Derek flirted. 

Olivia scrunched her nose at that, "You can do better." She said playfully before turning to the other door. "Doctor Reid." She smiled warmly, making eye contact before slipping through the threshold without another word.

Spencer's eyebrows went straight up into his hairline as he stood there for a moment. Derek's expression mirrored him. "Okay." The taller man mumbled before heading into his own room. 

***

Olivia's cell phone woke her up the next morning. She rolled over and reached for it, turning the screen towards her before answering the call. "Hotch." 

"We've got another body."

"Which one?" 

"Hollow Point. Reid and I are going to check out the crime scene. I need you to get started with those letters."

"Okay. I'm awake. I'm going."

She threw the covers back and headed straight for the shower, in and out in five minutes. She was slipping into her shoes when there was a knock on her door. "Yeah?"

"It's Emily. You ready?" 

She swung the door open and tucked her phone into her pocket. "Ready."

Emily looked at her outfit and then down at her own. "Black on black." She laughed. "Are we secret agents or special agents?" 

Olivia chuckled. "Ask me after I've had my coffee." 

***

"Too bad we couldn't get any prints from the newspaper." Emily said absently as she looked over the evidence board. 

"We'll just have to try something else." Olivia said as she leaned over the table, reading the letter again. Neither noticed Spencer standing just outside the door, his eyes quickly memorizing the view in front of him. Olivia had one long leg leaning against the side of the table and the other further back for support. She wore black slim jeans and black boots with a thigh holster strapped to her. 

His brain went blank for a split second before clicking. Coffee. Yes, coffee first. Good idea. He turned on his heel and walked away quickly. 

Emily checked her watch, "Where is he?" 

"Who?" Olivia asked, a pen wedged between her teeth in concentration. 

"Boy genius."

"I'm sure he's on his way." She answered as she circled something on the page in front of her. 

"Oh, perfect timing!" Emily said as the man walked in with a cup in his hand. "Nothing for me?" She pouted. 

"Uh, no. Sorry, I can-"

"I'm kidding, what have you got?"

"Um, well. He only sent this to an individual, which means he's not confident enough to have contact with the masses." He said, quickly jumping into the analysis, he pointed to a large version on the screen beside Olivia. "Emotional indicators are analyzed through slants. The shooter maintains vertical, narrow-lettered writing, both signs of repression. And the pressure-"

"It's excessively heavy." Olivia supplied, "He's uptight and prone to over-reaction."

Reid looked over at her, "Uh...uh yeah, exactly."

"You got all that from his handwriting?" Emily asked. 

"Graphology is an effective and reliable indicator of behaviour."

"My writing is always different." She objected. 

"That's because it expresses your emotions at any given time just like your facial expressions give away how your feeling when you're speaking. "

"Why does he write in cursive?" Olivia asked. " I ask because his message, it's very clear. I would have thought he'd print everything."

"His connective writing shows that he deals with problems in a practical and direct manner."

"Like by killing people?" Emily asked sarcastically. 

"Exactly."

The rest of the team arrived and Hotch beckoned them out of the room, "It's time to deliver the profile." The others walked out before her and he pulled Olivia aside. "Don't feel any pressure, If you have something to add, do."

She smiled up at him, "Thanks."

They stood up in the front of the room full of police officers as Reid began, "The Hollow Man uses simple statements, all in first person, 'I won't be ignored', he's obviously tired of feeling this way. It's possible he has a job where he works in solitude or one that strips him of his identity. It may require him to wear a uniform, something that shows absolutely no individuality. Or he feels that he's overqualified for his menial job and doesn't get the respect that he deserves."

"Today he's killed two women." Hotch continued. "Which tells us he's growing confident. This makes him unpredictable and dangerous, and because he has no physical contact with his victims, It's going to make him that much harder to catch."

"On the other hand, we have more information on the Mill Creek killer case because he spends more time with his victims, before and after he kills." Olivia stated, nodding to Gideon. "Because his victims willingly follow him in broad daylight, he appears harmless, most likely handsome."

"Handsome?" One of the officers asked. 

"Yes. These woman wouldn't follow an unattractive man, they just wouldn't." Morgan continued, "He's handsome and he's got the social skills to trick his victims. Those that know him well, they'd be shocked to know he's the man we're after." 

"If this guy is so smart, why would he risk driving his victims from the abduction site to the woods?"

"Because of the ritual. It's become the most important thing to him. Dominates his thoughts. The woods provide the privacy he needs." Gideon added. "Thank you."

The group disbanded and the team headed back to the conference room. Several people collapsed into chairs and rubbed their brows in exhaustion. "Anyone else need coffee?" Olivia asked, standing.  
"Yeah I'll give you a hand." Derek said following her out the door. 

"So how have you been doing so far?" Derek asked as he reached above her head to grab the cups. "It's good, actually. Aside from, you know, the simultaneous serial killers and all."

"Yeah, aside from that. You getting along with everyone? No one's giving you trouble?" He questioned as they waited for the coffee to brew. 

Olivia smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at him. 

"What?" 

"JJ was right." Olivia smirked. 

"Oh really, about what?" 

"You're a good guy, Derek."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She replied as she poured the cups full and handed them to Morgan, grabbing a bagful of sugar packets. 

They walked back into the room to an even icier mood then when they left. "What's up?" Olivia asked, putting the items down onto the table.

JJ turned to them holding up a photograph, "Meredith Dale. 25. She's disappeared."

"Disappeared when?" Derek asked. 

"An hour ago. She was supposed to meet her friend for a bike ride at the park and never showed."

"And we know it's the same guy?"

"Well look at her." Olivia said, taking a copy of the picture. "She's exactly his type and she vanished into thin air from a populated area. It's got Mill Creek written all over it." 

"So based on the other timelines, we have to assume he's hiding her body right now." Derek added. "I'm gonna call Garcia, I have an idea."

***


	4. The Last Word pt.5

"Damnit." JJ said snapping her phone shut. 

"They didn't get him?" Emily asked.

"They got Meyers." She said sighing heavily as she sat down. 

"The reporter?" Olivia asked confused. "That doesn't fit." 

"The Hollow Man wrote to him, telling him where the body would be."

"So our plan to catch the Mill Creek Killer was ruined by the Hollow Man?" Reid asked.

"And now he's on a high, is he satisfied or just getting started?" Hotch asked. 

"Typical, he's alerted the media and injected himself into the investigation. He's finally getting that attention he's been craving." JJ said.

"But if he really wanted to get the other guy arrested, he would have called us and not the media." Hotch added. "He must know that he need's to revisit the body, and if he doesn't get the change to complete his ritual it could push him into a frenzy." 

"If that happens, this guy is a time bomb waiting to explode."

An agent rushed into the room. "A woman was just attacked, said some guy tried to take her."

Hotch nodded, "Gideon and Morgan, go. We'll keep working on this." Olivia looked over at him once they had left. "You know- if it's the Hollow Man's intention to force him into a frenzy, he's getting what he wants. He knew exactly where to find the body."

"And he figured out the dump site the same way we did." Hotch nodded. 

"We always say, serial killers make the best profilers." Reid noted as he sorted through the newspapers in front of him. 

"Yeah, but, Olivia's right, he's dead on. None of the stories talk about the M.O., we asked the reporter not to reply to the letter."

"He doesn't and then the guy goes out and shoots two more women." Olivia finished. 

"Right. So what gives this guy the confidence? And what's the significance of the paper at the scene? We know he wants to be newsworthy, he could have just tossed it aside, instead he displayed it." As Hotch spoke, Reid began flipping through several of the papers.

"Reid?" Olivia asked, watching him. 

"I figured it out."

He glanced up and looked straight at her. "They're talking in the classifieds."

"This is like a spy movie." Olivia murmured as he held the copies up side by side. 

"It's low tech, simple and effective. The references are what made me suspicious." He said, looking over at Hotch. "Sunny. Are you an artist too? I'd love to see your work sometime. Holden" He read. 

"Catcher in the Rye." Olivia supplied. 

"Exactly. Widely accepted to be the loved book of sociopaths. Mark David Chapman quoted it after killing John Lennon."

"Really?"

"Deranged minds identify with Holden's alienation and detachment." Hotch answered before Reid continued. "I found the initial contact, it ran through the paper unchanged for months. 'We have different tastes, but I can appreciate your art, Sunny.". 

"So what is this then, a mentor-mentee relationship?" 

"Probably. But when the Hollow Man remained unnoticed by the press, he resented his mentor and turned it into a rivalry. "

"Jealous because they weren't seen on the same playing field." Olivia concluded. "What else?"

"'An overwhelming area and you never get lost?' And the answer, 'I do my research. It's not so random when you know the area. I like Cotton Wood in SGC.' " 

"Salt Grass Cove." Olivia looked up at the unit chief. "Hotch, I have an idea."

He smiled at her, "I think I have the same one." 

***

An hour later Reid was still sitting at the table with a pad of paper in front of him, scribbling away when Derek walked in. "How's it going?" He asked. 

" Reid's imitating the Hollow Man's language patterns to send a message to the Mill Creek Killer. He's offering condolences on losing Meredith Dale." 

"Well if he can't get to Meredith he's going to need a body and he's going to need it real soon." 

"So we give him one." Olivia said. They watched as she turned to the evidence board and removed the head shots of the previous victims. When she turned around she held them on either side of her own face. Sure enough, she held a striking resemblance to both women. 

"Dang, that's creepy." Derek said looking at her. "You up for that?" 

"Catching bad guys? Always."

Then, JJ and the reporter walked back into the room. "I hope you're close, Reid." She said, crossing her arms. "You've got less than an hour to meet the deadline." 

"What do you think?" He asked, "Dear Holden, they say imitation is the highest form of flattery. Since you were almost in harms way, I thought I'd share some art. It should make you feel better. Here's my gift to you. Sunny."

Twenty minutes later Olivia found herself laying in a pile of leaves on the cold ground of the forest floor. An officer was blending the pale makeup on her face, making her appear lifeless. She wore a dark turtleneck to avoid drawing attention to her carotid artery. 

"You'll be surrounded." Gideon said from above her as Derek crouched down beside her. "You need to relax as best you can." He said softly. "He's going to want to get close to you. You're a gift, he's gonna want to touch you. We have to confirm he's the killer, but he's not gonna hurt you."

"Way to start my first case. Let's get this guy." Olivia mumbled.   
"Okay, down you go." Gideon said, placing his hands under her shoulders and head to lay her down. He and Morgan began to cover her remaining body in leaves and brush. "Close your eyes." He said gently. 

Olivia waited in the dark, her eyes shut and her back cold from the hard ground. Her breathing was shallow and trained. Sniper breathing. Soon she heard footsteps crunching the leaves around her. Her hand unconsciously flinched again the butt of the gun in her grasp, hidden at her side. 

The crunching came closer, slowly, until it was right beside her head. She felt the body crouch down next to her and relaxed her face. Gently, caringly, hands began to brush away the leaves covering her features. A small gasp exclaiming when they came into view. 

Hands caressed her cheek, her neck, feeling the soft skin. "Hello." The deep voice whispered. She heard him removing his clothing, the jacket discarded beside her, and the hands coming close again. In that same second she heard the tale tell signs of dozens of footsteps surrounding them and brandished her own weapon. Pointing it at the man as she sat up. "FBI." Morgan identified himself and shoved the man to the ground.

"One down, one to go." Jason smirked, holstering his weapon. 

***

"I've alerted all news outlets that well be doing a press conference in ten minutes." JJ said as the team watched their killer being placed in an interrogation room. 

"Make sure you use exactly those words, it's important." Hotch clarified as Olivia came back into the room with a small towel in her hands, wiping the rest of the makeup from her neck. "I saw the spectacle outside, very nice."

Gideon looked at her for a moment. "Why don't you come with me?"

"Interrogation?"

"Yeah. He saw you as a dead body and he liked it. If he wants to sit there and say he stumbled across the body, we don't have much on him."

"So you want to destabilize him now that he knows I'm breathing?" She smirked.

"That's a good idea." Emily agreed. 

Olivia nodded, "Disgusting. But alright." 

"Give me a five minute head start." He said, unclipping his holster from his waist.

Gideon walked into the room and waved off the officers waiting inside. "You comfortable?" He asked. 

"As comfortable as anyone can be in handcuffs." Their suspect replied. 

The man nodded, pulling his keys out of his pocket and dismantling the cuffs. He walked around to his own seat. "I'm Jason Gideon. You know we don't know your name or where you're from." he said plainly, leaning back in his chair. "The only thing we do know is, you're an intelligent, good-looking man with an inflated ego who happens to like killing women." 

The man smiled, "Well you had me till that last part." He smirked. "Agent Gideon, Imagine how shocked I am. Considering I haven't done anything. I see a woman who I think is in distress in the woods, and I get pounced on."

At that moment, Olivia pushed open the door and walked in. The look on the man's face went from shock, to envy, to as much of a neutral expression as he could muster. His desire visible under the surface.

"Oh did I interrupt something?" She asked innocently before turning to the man. "Were you talking about me?" she asked, her eyes fluttering slightly. 

She made a show of turning her chair to face him. Crossing one leg over the other and brushing her long curly hair back across her shoulder. "It's the lighting isn't it?" She asked, a finger tracing her jaw. "It gives me such a different glow than the makeup." 

"So, this is him?" She asked, turning abruptly to Gideon. 

He merely nodded. 

"Huh." She looked back over, studying his face. "I definitely thought the Hollow Man was going to be easier to catch. I guess I owe Derek $20." 

"I don't know the Hollow Man." He said. 

"We thought you were friends, thought you were his mentor." Jason replied. 

"But if I did, I'd say he was an obsessed fan."

Olivia chuckled at that. "A fan? Is that how you see yourself? A celebrity?" She asked, twisting a curl between her fingers. Both she and Jason took quick note of the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. 

"Well. From what I've read about the Mill Creek Killer, I'd say he was an artist." He boasted back. "No one can respect what the Hollow Man has done." He leaned his body towards Olivia. "He has no imagination." He whispered. 

"But he sure figured you out didn't he?" Gideon asked. "Found Meredith Dale's body, eve told the media about it. Sounds like the student turned on the teacher. He set you up. You were front page news. Now you'll be a foot note. He's out there- you're in here. All because of him. "

"Is that what you want? You want me to get angry to try and catch him?"

"Oh that's not your problem. I just have one question, If you don't mind." Olivia interjected, turning his attention back on her. "If killing those women made you an artist. What does this make you?" She asked pulling a tube of lipstick out of her pocket. She held it up for him to see and watched as his expression changed. 

"I mean it, it just doesn't seem very artistic, does it?" She said popping the top off to reveal the crimson red shade. You went back and you visited them. Over and over and over." Her eyes never left his face as his own were glued to her hands, watching her twist the stick up and positioning it near her lips. 

"If you thought you were famous before, wait until the press gets a hold of those details. The lipstick we found on you."

"Don't you dare. You cannot tell anyone that."

"Won't I?" She asked as she covered her lips in the scarlet shade. 

"You can never say that, do you understand?"

"So you didn't visit the corpses?" She asked pursing her lips together. "No."

"You just killed them?" "Yes."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Yes. I killed them. But you can't tell anyone that I went back. You can't do that."

"I think this speaks for itself." She said standing, and closing the door behind her. 

She walked up to the rest of the team and handed Emily the lipstick back. "Thanks for that. How did JJ do?" 

"Perfect as you did." Emily replied.

"Uh... How did you know that that would work?" Reid asked, his eyes fighting to stay away from Olivia's crimson lips and on her eyes. 

"Female intuition 101." 

"They teach you that at the academy?" Morgan asked as she rolled her eyes. "Please, you know how many bad dates I've been on in my life? That guy comes pretty close believe it or not." 

"You know, you looked pretty good as a dead chick, maybe your nickname will be zombie." Derek smiled knocking his shoulder into hers. 

Emily groaned, "That's terrible!". 

They were all distracted by the light hearted moment that only Derek from the corner of his eye caught the movement by the door. He drew his weapon and the rest of the team followed instinctively, Olivia on his hip. 

"Where is he, I want to see him!" A voice shouted. A man in a green coat had a gun pointed at an unarmed officer. He looked around and made direct eye contact with JJ. "He told you to say those things about me, didn't he? He told you to use those words." The man caught sight of the other killer in the interrogation room staring back at him and lowered his weapon. Face to face at last. Derek caught him off guard and shoved him down onto a nearby desk. 

"I'm no less elegant than he is- I'm no copycat! I left you the newspaper! I gave you the Mill Creek Killer! What else do I have to do?!" He yelled as he was led away. 

*** 

Back on the jet, the team sat in a different mood. It was lifted, there was relief among them. JJ stood by the fax machine, pulling out a document from Garcia. 

"This is the story for tomorrow." She said smiling, showing off the image. She gave it to Morgan who read it aloud. "They were our daughters, sisters, mothers and friends. They have every right to be remembered, and memorialized. " Reid read from over his shoulder. "They didn't mention the shooter."

"He was a nobody who wanted to be somebody by killing people." Hotch remarked. "They didn't give him that." 

"Good." Olivia finished. 

Eventually the plane fell into a lulled silence. Morgan was listening to music, Reid was reading, Emily and JJ were fast asleep. Olivia sat on her own with a mug of hot tea in her hands and her legs tucked under her. 

Hotch sat across from her, "So... you didn't get married." He said gesturing to the bare ring finger that was wrapped around her cup of tea. 

She unwrapped her hand to look down at it. "No I didn't." 

"Good. That guy was a jerk." Hotch said with a wry smile.

"Oh!" Olivia scoffed, "Now he tells me." 

"How was your first case?" 

"It was... Alright. I'll get used to the swing of things."

"I'm pretty sure you already did. You did great today." 

"Well thank you for the vote of confidence."

"Maybe not in your taste in men, but I've always had confidence in your work." He smirked before getting up and leaving her on her own. She smiled and shook her head before glancing out the window at the dark night skies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments! I want to know what you think! While you know I don't own these characters- they are my babies at heart! I want to make sure I'm doing right by you guys!


	5. Lessons Learned

When Olivia reached the BAU offices early in the morning it was still dark. She set her go-bag down on top of her desk and cradled her coffee thermos in her hands up the stairs to the roundtable room. "Good morning." She said quietly to JJ, Emily and Reid who were already there. She took her now-usual seat beside the doctor and he handed her a case file. "Thank you." She said quietly, shooting him a soft smile. A moment later Jason, Morgan and Hotch all arrived, followed by Garcia. 

"The DEA raided what they thought was a hardened meth lab, right here in northern Virginia. But they found this instead." JJ said, using her remote to bring up several images on the screen. "That could be a dispersal device for a chemical weapon." Derek said. "Sophisticated."

"Homeland Security's thinking Al Qaeda."

"They've developed devices that span the spectrum of sophistication. Some as simple as soda bottles and paint cans." Reid explained. 

"They're called Al Ikhteraa. Literally the invention." Emily said. 

"Do we know what the biological or chemical agent is yet?" Hotch asked. 

"Not yet." Olivia answered, looking through the file. 

"The cell members bailed out through a tunnel. The DEA recovered a Nextel 2-way and managed to intercept a message." JJ said, handing it to Emily. "It hasn't been translated yet."

"Uh... Our friends surprised us and eloped, we can no longer wait for the wedding as planned. We can deliver our gift at the next crescent." She looked up at Olivia's surprised and impressed look. "I lived in several middle eastern countries growing up."

"Next crescent?" Gideon asked. 

"Muslims sometimes use a lunar calendar. I'd have to look it up-" "Next crescent moon is in two days." Penelope cut in.

"So, whatever they're attacking it sounds like it's going to happen in the next 48 hours." Gideon sighed. 

"Sounds like it."

"Payment for the Nextel was linked to this man, Jind Allah." JJ said, putting his picture up on the screen. 

"Literally Soldier of God." 

"Two months ago Jind Allah was captured leaving the US using a forged Pakistani passport, via Richmond International Airport. He's being held as a ghost detainee in Guantanamo Bay ever since."

"So technically he doesn't exist." Garcia said. 

"Soldier of God isn't a name." Gideon supplied. 

"No, It's most likely a name taken on for the Jihad, meaning struggle. Extremists claim it's a holy war."

"Yet the words 'holy' and 'war' never appear together in the Qu'ran." Reid said.

"His real name is still unknown. CIA interrogators have gotten nothing out of the guy. They need us to break him."

"We do know from his past intercepts that he's a recruiter," Garcia said, "He came into this country to assemble the omega cell. "

"A sleeper cell with an unknown mission." JJ clarified. 

"So we have 24 hours to do what the CIA hasn't been able to do in two months?" Olivia asked. "Or we could be looking at the first terror attack on US soil since 9/11."

"No pressure." Morgan said. 

"Reid, Prentiss. Get your go-bags, we're going to Cuba." Gideon said standing. "The rest of us will coordinate from DC." Hotch finalized. 

The group quickly disbanded except for Reid and Olivia. "You're not heading out?" She asked. 

He shook his head, "My bag's ready.".

"Oh." She watched as he took his glasses off his face and wiped at a smudge on the lens. "Have you ever been to Guantanamo before?"

"No I haven't, you?" She shook her head. 

"I'm a little nervous to be honest." He said quietly. 

Olivia smiled and placed her hand over his on the table. "You'll do great." She said, pulling away quickly when she realized her move and saw him blush. "Just...uh... Stay safe." She said before quickly standing and making her way to the door. 

"You too." Reid finished as she slipped out to the hallway. He watched her take a few steps before gathering his things.

Olivia headed to her desk and met Penelope watching her. "Hey." 

"I saw that." The analyst smirked as one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows quirked up. 

"What?" Olivia asked, taking her seat. 

"You and boy genius?" Garcia said quietly. 

"We were just talking about the case."

"Mmmhmmm. I didn't realize talking about terror cells turned his face that particular shade of pink." 

Olivia chuckled, "Pen, focus."

"Oh I am, sweetness. I am." She quipped as Reid came over to their desks. "She is what?" Reid asked as the woman promptly turned on her heel and headed in the opposite direction. 

"Going crazy." Olivia smiled, avoiding the topic. 

***

Olivia, Hotch and Morgan walked into the raided house and were immediately met with sparsity. Plain white walls, minimal furniture, bars on the windows. 

"Bonnie Ryan. I'm the DEA team leader on this raid." The agent introduced herself. "Aaron Hotchner, Derek, Olivia. This must have slowed you down some, huh?" Derek asked, pointing to the windows. 

"Enough for them to get out through the tunnel." She said, leading the way to the back room. "They must have done escape drills."

The agent that met them there reached his hand out to Derek. "Hey, Morgan."

"Hey, Kenny. It's been a minute, man." "Yeah it has."

"We good in here?"

"Don't worry about it, everything in here has been rendered safe."

"These guys weren't messing around." Olivia said as she inspected the instruments on the table. Derek moved beside her. "Hotch, these tubes surround what would have been the explosive charge. And this cylinder right here? It's gotta be where they put whatever bio or chem agent they plan on dispersing." 

"That's a happy thought." The agent behind them said quietly. "Yeah tell me about it."

They continued on through the rest of the house. "Looks like a four man cell." Olivia said looking around. "They assimilated into the community." She said, waving a hand at the closets. 

"Just like any other suburban gangster wannabes rolling at the mall." Derek added. 

"Who do you think we're dealing with?" The raid leader asked. Hotch looked over at her, "Most likely middle-eastern young men in their twenties."

"And judging by the device out there, you're looking at significant targets, military installations, government buildings."

"Let's tear it apart." Hotch said pulling on a pair of gloves. 

"You know if these guys were fundamentalists, you'd think they'd have Qur'ans, prayer mats." Derek said. "No, we didn't find any of that here." The DEA agent said. 

"They must have at least one other location. You can't be that devout to your faith and... not be." Olivia said from her spot checking under the bed. 

"Guys." Derek said as he pulled a box of papers out from under a cot. 

"What is it?" 

"Well that looks like a list of chemicals." He said showing them the sheet. "I'm gonna check with Garcia." They waited for a few minutes while Morgan was on the phone. "Are you sure?" That got their attention. Olivia and Hotch looked at one another. 

"Garcia says this looks like a list of additives needed to weaponize anthrax."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh I better see some opinions after this chapter, lol


	6. Lessons Learned pt.2

They were back in the SUV heading to headquarters when Olivia got a call. "Yeah JJ." She said on speaker. 

"We think we just found the cell's backup site in Annandale, Virginia. It looks like a construction site. It sounds like they might have another device to arm."

"We'll call Agent Ryan to organize another raid. Call Reid." Hotch said. 

Soon they found themselves meeting the DEA truck at the site. Climbing out the back Derek handed Olivia and Hotch two Kevlar vests, his own already on. Olivia felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out to check. 

Two words flashed across the screen and made her smile instantly, her nerves settling. Tucking the phone away she turned to the team. 

"Hey guys, we want silence- no comms. Let's be careful, we don't know what to expect." The raid leader said as they checked their weapons. Olivia pulled her thick hair back into a ponytail and accepted a gas mask from Hotch.

"Ready?"

"Let's do it."

They breached the perimeter in an ordered fashion, each person covering a line of site. The DEA gear team entered the building first, clearing it room by room with the FBI agents behind them. 

They all looked around, ripping the masks off. "This place is completely empty, we missed them again." Derek said in frustration. 

Hotch pulled out his cell. 

"You've got Gideon, Prentiss and me." Reid's voice said over the speaker. "It's Hotch, we're at cell location number two. No cell members, no lab, no dispersal devices. We're still looking for escape tunnels."

"Call us." Gideon said before Reid hung up the phone. 

A few minutes later Hotch received another call. "Hey, what's the problem?" 

"Get everyone out of there now, now NOW!"

Hotched looked around, "Everybody out, it's a trap- NOW! I said out! Go!" They rushed from the building just seconds before it blew up behind them. The group were all thrown to the ground from the blast. 

Olivia wrapped her arms around her head to protect herself from the flying debris and rolled up into a ball on the ground. 

After the blast settled, she felt a hand reach over and grab her vest. "You okay?" Morgan's voice came through amid the ringing in her ears. 

She held up a hand, "I'm good." She shouted. Slowly, she made her way to her feet and stood. She looked down and surveyed herself before looking around at the others. Every inch of them was covered in dirt and dust. In the corner of her vision she could see and then hear the sirens of emergency vehicles getting closer in the darkness. 

She made her way over to Hotch as the ambulance puled up. "Everyone okay?" She asked. "We lost a SWAT agent." He said, looking over at Agent Ryan standing with his body as it was being loaded up into the vehicle. 

"Damnit." She said softly. 

He looked over at her face and grasped her chin in his hand. "What?" She asked as he inspected her. 

"You've got a good scrape here." He said, pointing to her cheekbone. She waved his hand away, "I don't even feel it."

"Not yet." He countered. "I'm good. Do we have anything to go on?" She asked as Morgan approached.

"The chatter was a set-up, they knew we'd be listening."

"They led us straight here." The man agreed.

"Just tell me you know where to look next." Agent Ryan's voice said as she came up beside them.

"We will."

***

Later in her hotel room she pulled the towel from her hair and dropped it beside her on the bed. She reached over and glanced at the message that was still blinking. "Stay safe."

She smiled and set it aside before inspecting the cuts on her body and crawling under the covers. "You too, Doctor." She mumbled before falling asleep.

***

"Good morning sunshine. How did you feel?" Morgan asked cheekily the next morning, handing Olivia a steaming hot cup of coffee as they waited by the car. 

"Like I was in an explosion." She said, taking the cup and inhaling the strong scent. "You are a terrific human, thank you."

"You're welcome. Have you seen the shiner on your face?" He smirked. 

"I can see it, I can feel it..." She trailed off, taking a sip as Hotch approached. "We have a name and an address from Garcia." He said climbing into the driver's seat. 

Once again, they met the SWAT team at their location and looked around. "How does a terrorist cell exist right here in Mayberry?" Derek asked. 

"Hey, infrared scanning still shows no one inside, we're gonna do a soft entry in case it's booby-trapped. Okay?" One of the agents said to them. 

They watched as the team cleared the house. When the agent came out again he headed straight for them. "We have five deceased males in what looks to be a crude lab. All shot in the head, execution style."

"Any anthrax on scene?" Hotch asked. "Only residue. There's also packing and tags from four new backpacks."

The agents turned to one another. "We're too late, they're already on the move."

Hotch flipped open his phone on the first ring. "Tell me you have it."

"It's the grand opening of the USA Mall today, it's the third largest in the country and it's right smack in the middle of McLane, Virginia." JJ said hurriedly. 

"We're on our way." Hotch said as they took off towards their SUV. Both Derek and Olivia watched as his face fell before following him.

"Hey." Derek asked when they were en route, "What's wrong with you? You look like you'd seen a ghost back there."

"Hailey was supposed to take Jack to the new mall to have his portrait taken."

"Call her." Olivia said from the back seat.

"It's a breach of security."

"You lose Hailey and Jack, screw this job, you won't have a life." Morgan said firmly. 

Hotch hit the speed dial number and listened, hanging up roughly after a few moments. "I can't reach her."

They pulled up behind SWAT and immediately exited the vehicle, Aaron headed for the main door. "Morgan, I'm going to find the security office."

"Go!" Derek looked over at Olivia. "On your six." She confirmed, nodding at him. 

The squad leader looked over at him, "Should we evacuate?"

"No, no. We'd have mass panic." Derek explained. "We wait for the go ahead and we clear foot by foot. Got it?"

Hotch's voice came over the comms quickly, "Morgan, I've four guys on the east end of the roof. It's the air vents."

Derek looked at the team around them, "They're going for the air vents." He said, "Masks up. Move."

The agents followed the swat team up onto the roof, systematically clearing the space around them and heading east. Olivia held her fist high into the air and the team stopped behind her. She pointed forwards at the movement up ahead, the four men from the security tape were crouched down near the ventilation shafts. 

Derek motioned for her to approach from the other side and she separated from the group as they advanced. 

"Don't move." Derek instructed. "Put the devices down, and put your hands where I can see them."

Three attempted to shoot back and were taken down by SWAT, the fourth took off running, with Derek hot on his heels. The man rounded the corner and was met with the butt of the rifle in Olivia's hand. The hit to the face dropped him to the ground and he crumpled instantly. 

Derek looked over at her with a shocked expression as she kicked the man's weapon away, her own still pointed at him. "Damn girl."

Olivia looked up. "Isn't this what you had in mind?" She asked.


	7. Lessons Learned pt.3

A few hours later Olivia was still in the office finishing her reports when Gideon, Reid and Emily arrived. "Hey guys." She said looking up at them. "How was the flight?" 

"What happened to your face?" Reid asked coming up to her to inspect the bruise that was starting to form. "Oh, the explosion, just a graze, I'm okay." She insisted, ever as he ran the pad of his finger over the edge of the coloured flesh, soothing the sting.

"That's going to leave a lovely bruise." Emily said making a face. 

"And then it will go away. Seriously, I'm fine." She said, glancing up at Spencer's face that was too close to hers. 

"You should see the other guy." Derek teased as he joined the group with his bag over his shoulder, breaking the tension.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked. 

"Oh I'll tell you all about it, you want a ride?" He asked her.

"Absolutely." Emily agreed, "Good night, guys."

"Goodnight." Olivia chuckled, shaking her head.

"You should go home." Gideon said sternly. 

"I just finished up, so I will." He nodded at her approvingly and headed out the door.

Olivia turned to Reid. "So, I hear it went pretty well." 

He nodded, "Not a bad day at work when you stop the bad guys from hurting people." He grinned softly. 

She glanced over at her watch. "Well, it's getting late, so I'm actually going to listen to Jason for once."

"I'll walk you out." Reid said, standing beside her with his hands shoved in his pockets. 

"Thank you." Olivia smiled as they walked back towards the elevators together. When they stepped inside she turned towards him. "By the way, I-uh... I wanted to apologize for yesterday."

He looked at her with a confused expression on his face. 

Olivia looked down at her shoes for a second and crossed her arms in front of her. "I know you don't... Like to touch so I... Shouldn't have...-"

"Oh that," He said hurriedly, "No... It's okay I don't... I don't mind if you touch me." He said, trying to will away the blush he knew was spreading across his cheeks. "I-I don't mind at all."

"Oh, okay." Olivia said as the doors opened and they stepped outside towards the parking garage. "It that... permission then, doctor?" She teased. 

He didn't think it was possible for his face to get any redder but here he was feeling it. "You, uh... You can call me Spencer, you know." He said, avoiding the topic. 

Olivia smiled up at him and nodded. "I'll do, that. Spencer."

He nodded, a small part of him satisfied by that. "Goodnight, Olivia." He said watching as she climbed into her vehicle.

"Goodnight."


	8. Sex. Birth. Death.

Olivia pushed through the doors to the BAU, unwinding the scarf around her neck when she almost ran right into Reid. 

"Good morning." She smiled, but stepped aside when he brushed past her and headed for the elevators, "Sorry!" he mumbled in a rush. 

The woman was startled and looked over at JJ who watched the exchange. "What's going on?" She asked as she neared the woman. 

"Spence thinks he just ran into a serial killer." She said, crossing her arms in front of her. 

"What?" Olivia asked in surprised, looking back at the now empty doorway. "Is he okay?" 

"Yeah, the guy found him on the subway. Was asking him questions about excitation killers, knew a whole lot of details about a number of unsolved murders in D.C."

Olivia's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, that's definitely not a coincidence."

JJ shook her head as they walked to Olivia's desk. "He's on his way to Metro now."

"Is this going to be a case?"

The blonde shrugged, "We'll see. Hotch and Gideon are going to meet him at the morgue, Derek and Emily are going to walk the streets. "

Olivia shrugged off her jacket. "Okay, I'll help you and Penelope." 

"Excuse me?"

The two women turned around to find a tall brunette in a tailored business suit near the doors. Noticing the visitor's pass clipped to her lapel, JJ stepped forward, extending her hand. "SSAs Jareau and Kallis, how can we help you?" 

"I'm looking for Agent Hotchner?" The woman said looking around. 

"Agent Hotchner is in the field at the moment, ma'am. He should be back shortly, may I ask what this is regarding?" 

"Your case." The woman said sweetly. 

"Of course." JJ said in surprise. "I'll take you to his office, if you don't mind waiting?"

"Not at all." She smiled. 

As JJ led her away, she nodded towards Olivia who reached for her desk phone the second she was out of earshot. 

"Hotch."

"Aaron, Congresswoman Steyer is in your office, she wants to talk about the case."

"I'm on my way."


	9. Sex. Birth. Death. pt.2

"This is impossible."

"Says you."

There's nothing in the juvenile offender records!"

Olivia pushed open the door to Garcia's office with a fresh mug of steaming tea in her hands. "You guys sound like you're having fun." She observed, handing the woman the cup. 

"Thank you very much, my Greek goddess. Tell me, lovely, how do you find information on a high school kid?"

"You think like one." She answered, leaning against the side of the desk. 

"I was twelve and I hadn't been through puberty when I was in high school." Reid objected. 

"Okay, reset." Penelope said. "We think like high school students." She said, gesturing to her and Olivia, "You think like a profiler."

"He said, he was a junior, right?"

"Yeah."

"Always lie and say you're older." Olivia pointed out. "Yes, especially when talking to an authority figure." Garcia confirmed. "Probably a sophomore."

"Okay." Reid pondered. "His coat was lamb's wool, but it didn't look vintage. It... fit like it had been tailored for him. That means money. In D.C., money would mean private school."

"There it is." Olivia nodded in encouragement. 

"Even a lie has to be within the depth of your own experience, right?"

"Fair enough, fair enough." Penelope said as she typed. 

"Uh... Pull up the district that serves Northwest High. Are there any private schools within those boundaries?"

"Uh... Three."

"Do any of them offer elective courses at Georgetown?"

"One. The Morton School."

"Pull up the Junior class." Olivia nudged him with her shoulder. "Un... Sophomore class." He corrected. 

They watched as Penelope ran through the photos. "Spencer, right there." Olivia said pointing to an image. "That's your sketch." Sure enough the image of the same boy that Reid had spoken to that morning came into view. 

"Nathan Harris." He read on the screen. "We got him."

Olivia gently placed her hand on his arm and squeezed. "Well done, Doctor." She pulled out her phone. "I'm gonna call Derek to grab an SUV."

Penelope turned her face away and struggled to hide a grin as Reid's cheeks blushed at Olivia's praise. 

***  
Derek and Olivia stood by as Reid knocked on the door. 

A blonde woman opened the door, "Yes?"

I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. Agents Kallis and Morgan." He gestured behind him. "We're actually looking for your son, Nathan."

"Why?" She asked, her body language betraying her defensiveness. 

"We just want to ask him some questions."

"Well, not until you explain what's going on."

"Uh, your son came to talk to me this morning about a murder case."

"Why would Nathan know anything about a murder?" She asked as the young man walked around the corner. 

"No, mom. It's true. I-I did talk to him." He said. "Do you mind if I speak to him alone?"

The agents moved through the door and followed the young man down the hall into his room. There was loud music playing, and he moved straight to the stereo to turn it down. 

He turned and watched Spencer observe the space. "I knew if you were really good, you'd find me." He said. 

Reid looked at him carefully. "Is that why you were waiting for me? You- you wanted to get caught?"

The boy looked confused. "What do you mean, get caught?"

Reid moved towards the open laptop on the desk but the boy started towards him in protest. "Hey." Derek said moving between them. "Stay right there and keep your hands where I can see them." 

"It's just the text for a graphic novel." He protested as Reid skimmed the work. "About killing prostitutes?" The Doctor asked, skeptically. 

"Yeah, Jack the Ripper. It's a famous case."

Derek surveyed him, "This isn't a game, kid." 

"I know."

Reid scoffed, "You knew specific details about a murder that hasn't been publicized."

"I know. But I didn't kill her." The boy sighed. "I just... I really wanted to." 

Olivia, who had stayed silent up until now, looked over at Reid and Morgan with an incredulous look on her face.


	10. Sex. Birth. Death. pt.3

"Nathan, If you didn't do it, how did you know the details of the murder?" Derek asked from inside the interrogation room. 

"Because I saw the body. It was early- it was before school. She- she was dressed in red. She... had been stabbed a lot, her hair had been chopped off. "

"Where was that?"

"In an ally off of K Street, they take men down there for sex, I see them do it all the time." He said. 

Emily turned to Olivia from their side of the one-way glass. "This is one creepy kid." 

"It's like he's in this far off world where all he can think about is murder. You should have seen the look in his eyes back at the house when he talked about it."

"What were you doing down there?" Reid asked. 

"I don't know, I just sort of... end up there sometimes, you know? I-I stay out all night and I just come back in the morning. And if my mom's at work I don't even bother coming home."

"Where is his mother, by the way?" Emily asked. 

"She's with Gideon. Having what I'm going to assume is a very uncomfortable conversation." Olivia answered. 

"Why didn't you call the police?"

The boy shrugged and looked down at the table. "I don't know."

Morgan leaned over. "Nathan, the problem is that the prostitutes I talked to, they say you watch them."

He shook his head. "I would never touch them."

"Do you fantasize about having sex with them?"

"No- I told you, I think about killing them."

Emily nodded her head. "Well at least he's clear about that." They watched as he continued. "But after the lecture, I saw you at the metro stop a few times and thought you could help me."

"How?" Reid asked. 

"I don't know I saw that body and I felt... Excited. And that really scared me." 

"Is it possible that you actually did kill those prostitutes but you don't want to admit it to yourself?" Derek asked. 

"No." He answered emphatically. "Then why did you run away from me?" Spencer asked. 

"Cause... I don't know, I thought you'd say I was crazy and there was no way to stop it."

Olivia let out a deep sigh. "I've got to admit. The kid's in trouble but... It kind of breaks your heart when he knows he has to stop himself." 

"Yeah, If only all killers had this kind of self awareness." Emily agreed. 

"I'm serious." Olivia said, eyeing the boy. "Look at him. He's desperate." 

***

Olivia walked back into the bullpen were Reid was leaning against a desk. "Emily is going to bring him out." She said.

Spencer just nodded his head and looked at her as she stood in front of him. 

"What do you think?" He asked quietly. 

"He's not our unsub. But he could be...one day. And he knows that. He's reaching out for help." She answered him, her voice full of sympathy. 

Spencer let out a long sigh. "And I have no idea how to do that." He said solemnly. 

"Dr. Reid?" 

They both looked around to see Nathan being escorted back into the bullpen by Emily. 

"Yeah?" Spencer asked, standing.

"I know I don't deserve any favours, but... Whatever my psych eval says, you promise to tell me the truth?" He asked, looking up at the doctor with a scared expression. 

Spencer nodded at him. 

"Um... My mom says a promise doesn't count unless you say it out loud."

"I promise."

The boy smiled, "Okay, thank you." He said before he was led away.

Olivia watched Spencer's sad expression. "Hey." She said, reaching for his arm. "You okay?"

He looked down at his hands. "It's like with my mom, I used to think that if I knew absolutely everything there is to know about schizophrenia then I'd somehow be able to fix it." He looked up at her, aware of what he just admitted. "Instead all I did was break her heart and have her committed."

"I wish I could say that was possible." She whispered, as a piece of her own heart broke. "Trust me." 

Hotch came up to them then, "Hey, I need you guys in the conference room. If Nathan Harris isn't our unsub, we still need a working profile."

Olivia nodded, "You got it." Hotch continued on and she gave Spencer a soft smile, before reaching over and running a hand over his arm. "Come on."


	11. Sex. Birth. Death. pt.4

Emily reached down to examine the wallet on the ground. She looked up at the body of the young woman beside it. "It says failure". She said, reading the letters carved into her stomach. She pulled the identification out. "Damnit, she was only 16." 

"He's getting angrier at the police for not stopping his impulses." Hotch observed as Reid and Olivia stood back. "He's not cooling off between kills anymore." The doctor observed. 

Morgan was kneeling beside the body. "This means we're looking at a whole lot of bodies." He said, his tone frustrated. 

"Meanwhile in two days, Congresswoman Steyer is going to stand up at the Capitol and declare   
Washington crime free." Hotch scoffed. 

"Hey what did she want with you the other day anyway?" Emily asked, earning her a sharp look. "It was a private conversation."

"Right, of course. I'm sorry." She attempted to backtrack. Reid looked over at Olivia as they watched the exchange. 

"I guess now we can confirm Nathan Harris isn't our unsub." She said, trying to change the conversation. 

"Should we call Gideon and tell him not to bother with the eval?" Morgan asked. 

"No. He needs to understand what's happening to him." Spencer insisted. "He deserves to know."

***

Olivia and Penelope were sitting together in the roundtable room continuing their work on the case when JJ came inside. "Where's Morgan?" She asked looking around.

"He and Reid went to check the streets for Nathan, why?" Garcia asked. 

"There's another body." She said looking pointedly at Olivia. The woman stood and turned back to the tech analyst. "Call him." She said, following JJ out of the room. 

Soon after, they joined Spencer, Reid and Gideon where they stood. Two bodies now were strewn out on the sidewalk like garbage. 

"He's sure getting bolder." Derek said with a sigh. "If it's even the same unsub." Gideon added. 

"Do you think it was Nathan?" Spencer asked. 

"This kill was fast and messy. There's no message, no hair cut." Olivia said, "Not to mention he killed at night." 

"Excuse me, agent?" An officer came up to Reid, "They found the boy you're looking for."

The team was escorted to a church a dozen blocks away where Nathan Harris was sitting in a pew. "Says he's been here four hours." The officer said when they arrived. 

Gideon and Olivia waited by the door while Derek and Spencer sat down next to the young man. 

"You had a lot of people worried." Reid said quietly.

"Sorry."

"You told that policeman that you've been here four hours?" 

"I snuck out... I started walking like I couldn't control it so... I figured I'd come here, try and fight it." He said looking up at Reid with tired eyes.

"Has anybody seen you here?" The doctor asked. 

The boy shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"It does matter Nathan." Spencer sighed. "A woman was stabbed tonight, and no one saw you. I'm going to have to bring you in as a suspect." 

"Are you gonna cuff me?"

Reid looked over at Derek who silently handed him his handcuffs. He looked at Nathan for a moment before they stood up and Spencer clicked the cuffs over his wrists.

"Do you want to know what I've been doing all night?" Nathan asked. "I've just been sitting here thinking... The only way for me to save people's lives in the future, is to kill myself." He said seriously.

Back at the station the next morning JJ approached Reid as he and Gideon entered the bullpen. "Nathan's in custody?" She asked. 

"They're holding him downtown."

"Do you really think he killed that last woman?"

"It's possible."

"But..."

"Nathan's evolving, his last kill- it feels like a devolution." He explained.

"It was sloppy and angry, Nathan's smart and directed, he's used to achieving. If he decides to kill it will be clinical and efficient." Gideon said in a rush as they headed to the roundtable room. 

"Where does that leave us?" JJ asked. 

"Back to the profile." Olivia finished as they entered the room. She was already there with Hotch, Morgan and Emily.

"The first victim, he gets a taste for killing." Hotch began once everyone was seated. "The second, he asked police to help stop him. By the third he feels like they failed him. He's already devolving, fourth victim, no ritual, no message. Just a brutal murder."

"It's true that he's devolving, but this last victim definitely had a message." Gideon said. "You don't dump a body across from the capital building by accident."

"Especially not when a congresswoman is about to proclaim a victory against the crime epidemic." Emily said, her demeanor frosty. 

"The press conference wasn't announced yet." JJ added. "Only someone with inside information would know that."

"We profiled that the unsub felt impotent in his job, what's more powerless than being a bit player on the Washington stage?" Reid asked. 

"You know if he felt like he did his job to clean the prostitutes off the street, he may not have been heard. May have felt so betrayed that he literally had to carve his frustration out on those women." Morgan added. 

"So the profile was right, we were just wrong about who the message was for." Olivia said.

"We need to know everyone who advocated for that bill." Gideon agreed. 

"Prentiss, when you went back to talk to some of the women, did the profile ring a bell with any of them?" Hotch asked. 

"A few of them described what sounded like the same man, but when I showed them mug shots I came up empty." 

Hotch paused for a moment. "Let's go back to them, we're going to need their help."

"What are you thinking?" Olivia asked. 

"I need to get a message to congresswoman Steyer- how quickly can we put together a press conference?" He asked JJ.

"How fast do you need it?" She smiled.


	12. Sex. Birth. Death. pt.5

"The lower the group is on the Washington food chain the better, this guy feels that his voice isn't being heard. Make sure to look for any advocacy groups promoting morality or values." Reid said in a rush. 

"Okay, reality check, what you're looking for is... Haystack." Penelope said, her voice loaded with stress. 

"Garcia- we don't have to find it, we just have to get it to the people who can."

Olivia opened the door and looked over at Spencer. "They're here. Emily is trying to get whatever info she can, do you have anything?"

"Leave me be. I'll find it." Penelope said waving them away. The duo exited and headed towards the roundtable room. Out of the corner of his eye, Reid caught sight of the Congresswoman entering the floor. "Four o'clock." He said quietly. Olivia looked over and they hurried their pace. 

A few moments later Hotch led the Congresswoman into the room where they, Emily, and three other women were waiting. 

The Congresswoman looked around in disgust. "Just what point are you trying to make?" She asked, her attention focused on Hotch. 

"These women described similar experiences with the same man. We showed them police mug photos and they didn't recognize him. We thought maybe you might know who he is." He answered. 

"Did you think you could shock me by treating me to this side show?" She asked condescendingly. 

"Side show?" One of the women asked. "Lady, enough of the men you work with treat themselves to us everyday."

"My apologies, ladies."

Emily looked at the group. "Could you please tell the Congresswoman who it is we're looking for?" 

The first started, "He's tall and bald and he's got sad eyes."

"He's always wearing a turtleneck with this long, dark coat. Looked like a mortician." 

"That's right, hung around for months before he could finally get his nerve on. And then he just wanted to watch. Freak paid me and Racine 200 bucks to turn each other's knobs but then he got all mad, calling us low women."

"Same thing with me, and his voice got all high and nasal when he got excited. "

"Does that sound like anyone you know?" Hotch asked.

"No."

Spencer stepped forward. "I'm going to read you a list of groups that lobbied on behalf of your legislation. Keeping in mind the description you just heard, let me know if anyone associated with these groups could be the man we're looking for. Uh... The Crime Policy Institute, The Centre for Safety, Citizen's Brigade, Decency Watch-"

"Oh my god."

"Decency Watch?" Olivia asked. 

"The man who runs it."

"Ronald Weems?"

"Do you know him?" Emily asked

"No. Well yes but... He's a nobody."

"But he fits this description?"

"Perfectly."

***

They had split off into pairs, Emily and Derek, Spencer and Hotch, and Gideon and Olivia. They were walking the street with pictures of their unsub. It was dark and cold and no one was offering up any information. Gideon and Olivia were driving around in the SUV when they heard the whistle. 

It was a sharp contrast to the dull buzz of the street and the whole team converged on it immediately. They watched as the four agents cornered Ronald Weems. He fit his own description perfectly, long coat, dark turtleneck. He was about to try and bolt down the street, but Gideon pulled the large vehicle up behind him and Olivia jumped out and stepped around the vehicle behind him. 

"Lie down on the ground and get your hands behind you." Hotch ordered. Instead one of the women from earlier had snuck up in front of Weems and sprayed his face with pepper spray. 

The man dropped to the ground in pain as Derek restrained the woman. "He killed my friend!"

Hotch cuffed the man despite his protests. "She maced me!" He cried out. 

"Yeah she did." Emily smirked. 

"That's the kind of karmic justice I can get behind." Olivia smiled. 

***

Back at the office Reid sat in his chair when Penelope came up to him. "Hey." She said, gesturing to Nathan Harris as he walked up to the doctor.

Spencer stood, "Hey, I heard the juvenile authorities let you go today, I'm sorry I wasn't there." He said honestly. 

"It's alright."

"Where's your mom?"

"Oh, she had to go back to work, I told her I was coming to see you... So were you there, when they caught him?" 

"Yeah, I was."

"Did he say how long he knew what he was?" Nathan asked. 

Spencer shook his head.

"Do you think It's possible for me to maybe talk to him?"

"I'm sorry." Spencer said looking down for a moment. "You're not him." He insisted. "Who we are, is constantly evolving. I'm a lot older than you and I'm changing all the time. You know this job changes me. You've changed me. You sought me out and tried to understand how not to harm people. It's a far more important part of who you are than the one that scares you."

Nathan looked down at his shoes, "My mom wants to have me go to the hospital for a little bit." He said quietly. 

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea."

"You know once they lock me up, they're never going to let me out of there."

Spencer chuckled, "You don't know that."

"Whatever, I just came to say goodbye."

Reid nodded, "When are you going in?"

"It's supposed to be tomorrow. It's the last night of freedom." He sighed. "I don't know- thank you for caring." He said, holding out his hand.

Reid shook it silently and watched as the young man walked away. 

Later, he sat at his desk once again, staring off into the distance, his mind wandering. 

Olivia reached out to hand him a take out cup of lemon tea. "Here. You definitely don't need anymore caffeine." She said softly. He took it and she sat at the corner of his desk.

"There's nothing else you can do tonight." She said slipping into her jacket. "Let me take you home."

Spencer shook his head. "That's okay. I haven't finished my report yet, I'll go home after." 

Olivia looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "Spencer, I know you haven't known me for very long. But there's something you should know." 

Reid looked up at her in confusion. "What's that?"

She smiled. "I'm a really great listener."

A tiny smile lifted the corners of his lips. An accomplishment she found herself instantly proud of. "You have the number." She reminded him. 

Spencer nodded. "Yes I do. Thanks." 

As Olivia walked away she trailed a hand lightly over his shoulder, a move that automatically had the doctor fluttering his eyes closed.


	13. Sex. Birth. Death. pt.5

A few hours later Olivia received a text message from Emily with an address. She immediately jumped up from where she was relaxing comfortably on her couch and headed for the door. 

She arrived on scene at the motel and found Garcia with Derek. She immediately eyed the blood on the woman's hands and pulled her into a hug. "What happened?" She asked. 

"He put Reid's business card on the table and started slashing his wrists. There was so much blood." 

"Where is he?" Olivia asked. She followed Garcia's gaze as she nodded towards the ambulance. Olivia turned around and saw Reid with Gideon. The younger man turned away from him and walked away. Olivia made her way to Gideon. 

He looked down at her for a long moment before giving her a simple nod and walking away. Olivia followed the direction Reid had taken when she spotted him. 

She didn't care about the blood on his hands, she immediately rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. His name a whisper on her lips. 

To her surprise he returned the hug without hesitation, his arms coming around her and heaving a deep sigh as he tucked his head into her shoulder. 

"How many people's lives did I just risk?" He whispered into the warmth of her embrace.

She didn't let go, just held him tighter. "There's a reason we never shoot first." She answered. "It's never our place to be judge, jury or executioner. You did everything right."

He let out another heavy sigh, and she ran her hand over the back of his neck, her thumb brushing over the soft skin there. 

"Come on." She said, pulling back gently and looking up at him. It was then that he took the opportunity to take in her appearance. Her long curly hair was up in a messy bun, her usual black boots were replaced by black chucks; much like his own; and she wore an oversized gray hoodie. 

She shrugged off the question in his eyes. "I came as soon as I could. Let's get you out of here." She wrapped one hand around the back of his arm and led him towards her vehicle, unlocking the door so they could climb in. 

Spencer shivered involuntarily as she turned over the engine. "I forgot how cold it was." He mumbled. He had left his jacket somewhere in the back of Penelope's car. 

Wordlessly, Olivia reached over and turned on the heated seats. In a few moments Spencer could feel his back and thighs warming comfortably as she pulled out of the parking lot. The rest of the ride passed in silence that only stopped whenever Reid gave her a new direction. 

Eventually they pulled up in front of his building, immediately, Olivia had cut the engine and started to take off her seatbelt to go with him, but he reached out and placed a hand on her arm to stop her. She froze for a moment, looking up at him with his eyes closed and head back against the seat. 

"Spencer?" She asked softly. 

He didn't move, and he didn't answer. Slowly, she slid her arm out of his grasp, reaching up to take that hand in her own. They sat there in silence for a while in the darkness, the street light illuminating his profile as she stared at him. Suddenly she smiled, he had reached out for her. 

For the first time, he initiated their contact. It filled her with a warm feeling to know he trusted her, to sit here like this, his hand never pulling away from hers. Feeling content, she rested her own head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes too. She let her body relax into this peaceful moment with him.


	14. Profiler, Profiled.

Olivia sat at her desk at the end of the work day, going through her planner. There was a to-do list in there that felt like it was never-ending. She sighed looking at it, no idea where to begin, when a large cup of take away coffee appeared at her elbow. She looked up as a hand gently brushed against her arm in greeting. 

Spencer's soft smile met hers as he sat himself down at his desk in front of her. "Thank you." She said quietly, knowing what it was for, Spencer had taken to bringing her a coffee at exactly the moment she needed it all day. 

"I should be saying that." He answered genuinely. He opened his mouth again like he was going to say more, but stopped when she gave him a look. 

"You better not be trying to apologize." She whispered, not able to help a smile that started when his cheeks blushed slightly. 

Instead he nodded, "Okay. Hey, want to see some science magic?" He asked, his awkward moment instantly forgotten. 

"Of course I do." She smiled. "I've been saving this all day. Close your eyes." He instructed, pleased when she instantly complied, taking a sip from her coffee with her eyes closed. 

"Mmm. This is perfect." 

"I know." He muttered, as he mixed the ingredients he needed into a small film canister. "Okay, open them." He said, shaking the contents in the canister. "Um... you should probably come on this side." He warned.

Olivia wheeled her chair over directly beside him and watched as he set the item on his desk. Together they waited, eventually JJ and Penelope wandered over to watch too. "Nothings happening." JJ observed. 

"Shh. Watch!" Spencer squealed. A large smile erupted on Olivia's face at his enthusiastic excitement. 

Suddenly the canister shot itself off the desk and up into the air as Penelope gasped. They watched as it picked up velocity... And hit Prentiss square in the forehead as she entered the room. 

Olivia immediately lost it, giggling away beside him as he apologized with a chuckle. "What was that?" She demanded. 

"Don't you recognize a rocket when you see one?" Garcia asked. 

"I-I was merely demonstrating a physics law. I didn't mean to hit-"

"Ooh. Show me!" Emily said, suddenly interested in the fun. She came over to join them. "Turn around, please." Spencer said. 

"Wha- turn around?" 

"Yeah he's not gonna show you how it's done." Olivia teased. 

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"I thought you said it was physics."

"Physics, magic."

"Trust me." Penelope said pulling Emily around. "It will not do you any good to argue with him."

"Alright, alright. Turn back." Reid said a few moments later. All four women turned around again. "Observe."

They waited as once again, the canister fizzed on the desk before leaping into the air, only to land at Hotch's feet. 

The man picked up the canister from the floor with his usual hard faced expression. "Physics magic?" He asked as Emily, JJ and Penelope all scurried off. 

"Yes, Sir?" 

"Reid we talked about this."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"You're really starting to get some distance on those." He smirked, placing the object back on Reid's desk. 

Olivia immediately let out a snort of laughter as he walked away. "So he does have a sense of humour?" Emily asked. 

"Sometimes." Spencer said. 

"Oh it's down there. Deep, deep, deep down. But yeah." Olivia agreed. "Hey, where's Morgan?" She asked. 

"Chicago. He goes there every year for his mother's birthday." He explained. 

"That's sweet." Olivia smiled. "He definitely gets brownie points for being a good son." The shadow that crossed Spencer's face instantly made her heart drop into her stomach. "Spencer, I'm sorry I didn't mea-"

"No, you're right." He said tightly, his head dropping down slightly.

"I'm not." She said, she started to reach out to touch his arm but stopped half way there. "The circumstances are very different." He probably didn't want her to touch him right now.

He waited a beat before standing, grabbing his coat and his bag. "It's getting late." He said flatly. 

"Please wait." Olivia asked scrambling to her feet beside him. 

He gave her a half smile, that didn't reach his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said turning away. 

"Spencer." She whispered out, not even trying to stop the begging in her tone. He hesitated for half a second before turning away again. "Goodnight, Olivia."

She watched him exit the room and sighed heavily. The guilt in her stomach growing. "Damnit." She whispered softly to herself. 

"Hey lady. You want to come out for a drink with us?" JJ asked as the trio of women approached her desk again. 

Olivia did her best to hide her facial expression when she turned to them. "You know what?" She said reaching for her jacket and pulling it on. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Thank you though. Next time, the first round's on me." 

"Deal." Garcia smiled, "You okay getting home?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Thank you." Olivia grabbed her keys and headed to her car.


	15. Profiler, Profiled. pt.2

She pushed through her door and locked it behind her. Pulling her phone out of her pocket she glanced at it for a moment. "Calling him would just make it worse." She said to herself before plugging it into the charger on her kitchen counter. She walked into her bedroom and dumped her go-bag on her bed before stripping out of her work clothes and into a pair of worn sweatpants and a hoodie. 

She threw the contents of the bag into her hamper and pulled a few items out of her closet to refill it with, then locked her gun into the hidden safe beside her bed. Setting her things aside for work tomorrow she flopped onto her bed and let out a groan. "I need to book a massage." She said to herself as she felt her muscles protest under her. 

She didn't even make it to the bathroom to clean up before she fell asleep. It didn't last long though, she woke fitfully a few hours later. Rolling over to glance at the clock she grumbled, 1 am. Olivia climbed up out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror the winced at the smudged makeup around her eyes. "Really should have done this when you got home, Liv. Way to go." She chastised herself as she scrubbed away the grime and smoothed some cream over her dry skin.

"Better." She declared before heading towards the kitchen to make a up of tea. She leaned against the counter, looking down at her phone as she waited for the water to boil. No messages. 

She flipped the phone open and scrolled through her contacts her finger hovering hesitantly over the call button when the screen lit up in front of her with a different name. 

"Kallis." She answered quickly. "I'm on my way." She snapped the phone shut and reached out, swapping the mug for a thermos before heading back to her bedroom to change.

The plane ride to Chicago was surprising at best. Derek Morgan, charged with murder? It was almost enough to fill the awkward hesitation Olivia felt around Spencer. Almost. 

They all walked through the door behind Aaron who approached the nearest desk. "Special Agent Hotchner, FBI. I'm looking for Detective Gordinski"

"I got this, Chuck." Came a voice from further away. A bald man in a sharp suit approached the unit chief. "How you guys doing? Wally Dennison, CPD." 

"Where's Agent Morgan?" Hotch asked, already done with niceties. 

"Detective Gordinski's in with the suspect now." His calm demeanor caused the other agents to look at each other. 

Suspect. 

"I need to see him." Hotch said, unfazed. 

"When my partner's finished talking to him."

"I have your superintendent's personal cell number, and in the interest of not running roughshod over another police agency I've resisted calling him. So far. I need to see agent Morgan now."

"I'll get Gordinski. He's the, uh, primary." The other man caved, before turning on his heel and walking away.

"I don't like them calling him a suspect." Gideon said quietly. "Me neither." Hotch agreed. 

A few minutes later the detective returned with a larger man in tow. The team watched as he immediately began sizing Aaron up. 

"Detective Gordinski, CPD." He introduced himself as he shoot Hotch's hand. 

"You think an FBI agent, a BAU profiler committed a homicide?" Aaron asked, using his firm grip. 

"Actually, three homicides, at least. Over fifteen years."

"You- you think he's a serial killer?" JJ asked, outraged. "This is rediculous." Spencer added looking particularly unimpressed. 

"Has he been charged with anything?" Hotch asked. 

"I got 72 hours for that." The detective said with a smug expression. 

Hotch nodded. "I'd like to see him."

"Be my guest." The detective conceded, allowing the man to walk past him. He turned to Jason. "Agent Gideon, right?" He asked extending his hand.

"Yes."

"I owe you a big thank you." The detective said, smiling. "I had no suspects at all until you looked over my case for me." He moved towards another desk where he grabbed a file. "And sent me this profile. Everything in it points to that son of a bitch, Derek Morgan." He finished, handing it to him. 

Gideon began flipping through the pages. "I profiled him?" He mumbled. 

"It's all right there." Gordinski assured him. 

"Detective, a profile's just a guide." Olivia said. 

"Yeah, this one guided me to him." 

"They're really more useful in the elimination of suspects, rather than the inclusion." Emily added. 

"That's not the way you presented it to me." He directed towards Jason. 

"Well, if I confused you, I'm sorry."

The detective chuckled, "I'm not confused at all."

"Look whatever is it in here that make you consider agent Morgan a suspect has to be coincidence. You can't rely solely on this."

"You're right, I'm not." He said, giving him a knowing look. "15 years ago, I was a new detective. One of my first cases was a Black kid. 12 or 13 years old, found strangled in a vacant lot."

"Boy was a john doe, right?" Gideon asked. 

"Still unidentified to this day." Gordinski confirmed. 

"Wait, a 12 year old kid that no one reported missing?" Emily asked. 

The detective nodded. "Ever. Four years ago, a nother body turns up, same m.o., worked that case just as hard, came up with just as much nothing. Nobody in the area had ever seen the kid before."

"No one's looking for these kids?" JJ asked. 

"Then a few months back, I attended a seminar that you taught at CPD headquarters. I told you about my case, you said to send you the files, you'd look them over. This is the profile you worked up: there are about three million people in Chicago. Your profile said I was looking for a Black male, 25 to 35, with a knowledge of the area. Non-threatening to children- either knows them, or is normal enough that he doesn't scare them. A probable criminal record. It also said, the way the body was placed gently on the mattress, not just tossed on the ground, indicated someone who was probably consumed with guilt, especially for the first victim. Your exact words are- ' With a guilt-ridden offender, the BAU postulates the first victim is the most important and the unsub may still visit the place of the crime or even the victim himself.'. Care to guess who visits my first victim every time he's in town?"

"Can't be just visiting the victim." Gideon said, "There has to be more than that."

"Sure. You said the unsub might try to inject himself in the investigation to keep tabs on it. Morgan has called our headquarters many times since he joined the bureau. Always about this case." 

"So, wait- he talked to you about it?" Reid asked. 

"Headquarters. He'd never call me. After I got your profile, I checked airline records. Turns out Derek had just left Chicago when the other body turned up. Then yesterday, another kid ends up dead, and the last person he was with was Derek Morgan. In the boy's pocket we found one of his FBI business cards, his cell number written on the back of it- in fact, every time Morgan's in town he hangs out with kids." 

"That's just coincidence!" JJ exclaimed. 

"A hell of a lot of coincidences."

"It's pure circumstantial." Olivia added. 

"So's a fingerprint! Did I mention that Morgan found the body in 1991? Hidden way back in a vacant lot? And don't you teach that when a body is hard to find, the person finding it is always a suspect?" 

"There are key pieces of the profile that don't fit, Detective." Spencer defended, coming to stand next to Olivia. "Uh, the age, 25-35, Morgan was 15 or so at the time."

"Also says that age is the hardest to predict, and I should never exclude someone, simply because of a discrepancy with the age."

"What about the speculation that since he didn't manage to leave any evidence at the scene of the crime that he lacks the criminal record or previous law-enforcement knowledge? Derek wasn't even in the Bureau yet when the first body was found."

"He may not have had a knowledge of law enforcement, but Derek Morgan definitely had a criminal record." 

Reid looked over at Olivia with a confused expression on his face that matched every other in the room. 

Later when they were alone, Gideon spoke. "We're dealing with a desperate detective here. Three dead boys and no leads at all. Someone applies a profile to the one person thy already suspect. It's easy to get tunnel vision that way."

"One begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts." Reid added. "That's uh, one of Sherlock Holmes' favourite quotes."

"We need to figure out who really killed these boys before they decide to charge Morgan."

"What do you want us to do?" Emily aasked.

"The last victim was someone Morgan was seen with. Conveniently, Morgan was already a suspect in the other two."

"Someone set him up?" Olivia asked.

"We should consider Morgan a victim. Prentiss, you and Reid go see his family, learn about him. Especially around the time of the first murder."

She nodded, grabbing her coat. "Do we have the address?" 

"I can take you." Detective Dennison said, appearing behind her. 

"Oh, that's okay." She said, with a smile.

"No, that's not a bad idea." Gideon said pointedly. 

"Right." Emily nodded, and Spencer stood up to follow them, taking half a second to glance over at Olivia, who was doing her best to avoid his eyes. She silently thanked Jason for not pairing them together today.

Hotch walked up to them and lowered his voice. "According to Morgan, he's got a bad history with Gordinski."

"He's got a bad history generally." Gideon said, handing him Derek's juvenile rap sheet. 

"Resisting arrest, vandalism, aggravated battery. This is Morgan?"

"As a Juvenile- check the dates." Olivia answered. 

"This isn't in his personnel file." Hotch murmured. "He said he told me everything relevant."

"Then he either lied, or he doesn't consider this relevant." Gideon said quietly. 

"Since when is the criminal history of a suspect not relevant?" 

Both Jason and Olivia looked up at that. "You just called him a suspect." Hotch looked at them for a long moment before taking the sheet and leaving the room. 

"Get Garcia into Morgan's life." Gideon said, handing JJ the other sheet. 

"Yes sir." She said as he walked away. She looked up at Olivia. "She's going to hate this." She said quietly. 

"We all hate this." Olivia corrected.


	16. Profiler, Profiled. pt.3

"I feel terrible looking into his life like this." Penelope said over the speakerphone. 

"I know, just remember we're trying to help him." JJ replied quietly. 

"Okay, here we go... graduated with honours from Northwestern Law, did you know he was a star football player?"

"Surprisingly, I don't know much about him at all." JJ answered. 

"Quarterback, that's the guy who throws the ball, right?"

"Yes." Olivia said smiling. 

Penelope chuckled, "That's what he was! Full ride athletic scholarship. Sophomore year he severely injured his left knee and he never played again."

"Okay, Garcia, look further back before college." Olivia specified. 

"Right. Where are we? Okay. Um... Wait. He was mentioned in the Chicago register as... He found the body of a child in a vacant lot in 1991."

JJ sighed, "That's our first victim.

"He never told me about this." Garcia mumbled on the other end. 

"He never told any of us."

"Is there a criminal history?" Olivia asked. 

"Criminal? Liv- there's not going to be a crim- there's a sealed file."

"Unseal it." JJ said. 

"But it's a sealed file."

"Garcia- helping him." 

"Ah! Right! Helping him." A few more clicks later- "It's a juvenile criminal record. It was expunged and sealed by a Judge Esposito after presentation of a letter and testimonial from a local youth centre director... 'The finest young man I've ever known... Criminal record could jeopardize potential scholarship offer... Stake my personal and professional reputation...' He was definitely a fan of our boy."

"Do we have a name?" Olivia asked. 

"Hang on a sec..."

From behind her JJ could hear the elevator dinging open- "I'm Carl Buford. I've brought Damien Walters' mother to see detective Gordinski." 

"Buford." 

JJ whipped her head back around. "Did you just say 'Buford'? "

Olivia stood up immediately. "I'll get Hotch."

A few moments later Hotch and Gideon met them in the bullpen. "Find anything out about Morgan?" Jason asked. 

"The record wasn't picked up in his background check because everything in it was expunged, and the file sealed by a judge."

"Forgiving judge." Gideon remarked. 

"Well it was based on the recommendation of an upstanding member of the community who took personal responsibility for Morgan."

"That sounds like somebody we should talk to for more background."

"Should be easy, "Olivia said, glancing behind them. "He's right over there." They both turned around to see a tall Black man with a woman speaking to an officer across the room. 

Hotch crossed the room to the man. "Excuse me," He interrupted, "May I have a word?" 

"Of course." The man said easily as they walked away from the desk. "I'm special agent Aaron Hotchner, I'm with the FBI."

"You folks work with Derek Morgan?" The man asked as they approached Jason, Olivia and JJ.

"Closely." 

"Did you know him well as a teenager?" Gideon asked. 

"One of the finest boys I ever coached. Football. I run a youth centre."

"I gather, you were instrumental in helping to get his criminal records expunged." 

"I feel terrible about that now." The man admitted. 

"You do?" Olivia asked.

"Well in view of what's happened."

"What's happened is a mistake." Gideon corrected. 

"I'm confused, I thought Stan said there was all kinds of evidence."

"There is." Detective Gordinski said as he came up beside the man. "Thanks, Carl. You can take Ms. Walters home now. I appreciate you bringing her in."

"Of course, of course. Derek Morgan? It's still hard for me to believe it." 

"For them too." The detective said, gesturing to the agents. 

"I can understand that." Carl said. " Derek had a way of charming people into looking past his deficiencies. "

"Excuse me, deficiencies?" JJ asked. 

"Well you've seen the records."

"Derek was at the youth centre yesterday." Aaron interrupted, "Wasn't he?"

"Playing football with Damien Walters and some other boys."

"Carl was the one that saw them leaving together." Gordinski pointed out. 

"Did you talk to him?" Aaron asked. 

"I was working inside. By the time I was done, they were leaving."

"And when was the last time you did talk to him?"

"I don't know... years." He turned back to the detective. "If you need anything else, Stan. Anything at all."

"Thanks, Carl. Appreciate it." Olivia and JJ quietly made their exit after Hotch as Gideon turned to the man. "You seem friendly with Mr. Buford." They heard him say behind them.

"There's something there." JJ said quietly. 

"Yes there is."

They stood on the other side of the glass as Hotch entered the interrogation room. They watched as he faced Derek. "Carl Buford." He said simply. 

The look on his face was dazed when Morgan finally answered, "What?"

"Carl Buford he runs the youth centre."

"What's that got to do with anything?" 

"He's responsible for getting your records expunged." 

They jumped as Derek slammed his hand against the table top. "I told you to stay the hell out of my business." 

"Derek." Olivia murmured quietly. 

"You said you visit the youth centre every time you come here."

"So what?"

"Buford says he hasn't spoken to you in years. Why don't you visit the man who made your career possible?"

"Damn you, Hotch." Derek yelled as he angrily threw the objects off the table in one swipe. "It is non of your damn business." He said threateningly. 

"Buford's the one who told detectives you were with Damien." Aaron explained calmly. 

"I am warning you, Hotch. Back off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone likes a good comment...


	17. Profiler, Profiled. pt.4

Hotch had figured it out. He was the one the left the door open, he knew Derek would lead them right to him. And he knew where he was going now. He drove the SUV at warp speed with the police vehicle following close behind. The siren was loud but the silence inside the vehicle was even more deafening. 

Gordinski lead the way inside the building and he knew exactly where to go. They all overheard it. "How many kids I've helped get out of this neighbourhood, huh? How many lives I've provided! Look at you! You'd probably be dead by now."

"Yeah, well it wasn't for free, was it?"

"I pulled you out of the gutter."

"I pulled myself out of the gutter. All the way to the FBI. I did that!"

"You saying I had nothing to do with making you who you are?"

"No, Carl. I'm saying you had everything to do with making me who I am. Because of you, I'm somebody who get's to spend the rest of his life making sure guys like you go down."

"Look. Derek, I never hurt you. You could have said no."

"You're under arrest, Carl." Gordinski said from behind him. 

"I've helped a lot of kids." The man protested. 

"Let's go." 

"The neighbourhood won't be the same without me! It's gonna be worse! Without the centre!"

"Somebody will keep this centre running. The neighbourhood will. I will. " Derek promised. 

"Wait, wait- wait!" The man said as he struggled against his restraints. "Derek," He pleaded. "Isn't there something you can do for me?" 

"You go to hell."

***

The plane ride felt so long. Everyone was exhausted. When they finally touched down again Hotch told them all to go straight home. When her feet touched the tarmac Olivia closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp, cold air. She felt something brush against her shoulder and focused on Reid's figure as he continued past her and away from the lingering group.

Taking a deep breath she hustled to keep up with his long strides. "Spencer." She said quietly. "Spencer wait." She finally caught up with him and placed her hand on his arm to turn him towards her. 

"Yeah?" He asked eyeing her grip still on his arm. She noticed it too and quickly pulled her hand back. "Sorry." She mumbled. 

"I already told you you don't have to apologize for that." He reminded her quietly, not making eye contact with her. 

"Right, yes. I know that... Um... Well I still wanted to apologize- um not for that, well, yes I guess for that, but also for um..." She finally had the courage to look up at him and found a soft smile on his face. "I thought I was the only one who rambled on like that." He teased. 

A relieved chuckle escaped her lips. "I'm a little nervous." She explained. 

"I make you nervous?" He asked. 

"No." She answered automatically. "Well, yes. But that's not-" She winced out of embarrassment. "I need to apologize. Properly. To you. And I know it's been a hell of a long few days and secrets are kind of coming out everywhere, and that's pretty uncomfortable but... I need to tell you something. About me." She said, pulling her coat closer around her as if for protection. Spencer noticed the sign. "If that's okay?" 

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah that's okay." 

"No one knows this. Not even Aaron. Back home, when I was a kid-" She stopped and took in a deep breath of cold air to steady her nerves. 

"My dad... He used to beat my mom. He would rape her. But of course no one believed that, not our family, not any lawyer. Because how could a husband rape his wife? Isn't that just sex? You know, what happens in the home of a married couple was no one else's business." Spencer's expression went soft at her admission. He felt awkward just standing there while she exposed herself to him. Unable to touch her and comfort her. 

"But I was old enough to know." She continued. " Especially when he started hitting me too. So we ran. We came here. But mom was already broken, and she started using. She became a different person, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help her. I tried getting her into programs, into hospitals, I begged her to get clean. She ran every time." She continued, even though her eyes were filling with tears and her voice was wavering. 

"It came to a point where... I couldn't keep letting her through the door, because even I was enabling her. Letting her... steal... from me so she could score. The last time I saw her was four years ago, when I wouldn't let in her in. I called the cops on my own mother."

"What I said the other day, It wasn't about you." She hurried on before he could interrupt. "It wasn't about the things you told me about your mom. It truly wasn't. And I feel terrible that I made you feel that way. You're... You... I-I care about you. And If there is anyone who deserves to feel like a disappointment, it's me. Not you. I'm so sorry, Spencer."

She glanced down to see that somewhere in her rambling he had reached out for her hand. He held onto her tightly before letting go and stepping forward to wrap his arms around her. She blinked in surprise as several tears slipped past her lashes, but she didn't pull back. She let him hold onto her as she closed her eyes and breathed in the subtle scent of him that clung to his jacket. 

"You...we did what we had to." He murmured softly. "We can't change it." Olivia nodded her head in agreement against his shoulder.

He pulled back a little so he could look at her. "I didn't blame you." 

"You didn't?" Olivia asked. 

Spencer shook his head. "It just... pushed me into my own head a bit. I'm sure we all know how dangerous that is." He pointed out with a small smile. 

She chuckled and shook her head at that. "Your head is perfect." She smiled, and then blushed furiously, realizing what she had just said. 

Spencer laughed, his own cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "We should go. We have to be back here tomorrow." 

"Right." Olivia agreed. Pulling away from his embrace to walk beside him. 

"Olivia?" Spencer asked quietly.

"Yeah?" She said, looking over at him. 

"Thanks."


	18. No Way Out

"So what does, 'Wrinkle Free' mean anyway If it's just going to wrinkle regardless?" Spencer asked frustrated as he tossed more clothing into the washing machine. 

"It just means that it doesn't require the same maintenance that others do. You could just let it air dry or tumble dry and as long as you hang it right away, it won't wrinkle like a normal shirt." Olivia explained as she sat on her couch, filing her nails as she watched a movie on low volume. 

He adjusted the phone to sit in the cradle of his shoulder while he measured out the detergent into the basin. "I still think It's redundant."

"Because you just end up ironing them all anyway, don't you?" Olivia teased with a smile. 

"Maybe. Where are you now?" Spencer asked. 

"What do you call a blind dinosaur?" She quoted. 

Spencer chuckled, "A Do-you-think-he-saurus." 

Olivia laughed on the other line. "Very good, Dr. Reid."

"Did you know that while they were filming the movie in Hawaii, the island was hit with a record-breaking hurricane?"

"No I didn't." Olivia smiled, reaching out for her coffee on the side table. "But I am enjoying this morning's edition of 'breakfast and trivia' with Spencer Reid."

"In that case, another fun fact is that the T. Rex's roar in the film was actually composed by combining tiger, alligator and baby elephant sounds."

"That is interesting." She said as her phone beeped. She pulled it away from her ear to look at the screen. "Uh, Spence? BAU's calling. Looks like those shirts are going to have to be air dried after all."

Spencer groaned looking at the timer on the machine. 20 minutes remaining. "Yeah looks like it. See you later." He said as he ended the call. 

***

"Ten years ago the right rib bone of a male was found in the Dessert Rose National Park- it was never identified. This morning, the remains of two victims were found in almost exactly the same area." JJ introduced.

"Well, one year later is cause for concern, but ten years?" Emily said. "That could be a coincidence."

"It would be, " Spencer stated, placing a photo in front of her. "If the unidentified male wasn't missing a right rib bone." 

"And the torso found this morning is missing exactly the same bone." Hotch concluded. 

"Both of them seem to be surgically removed and the advanced rate of decomposition on the male means that he died far before the female." Spencer continued as he walked around the room to end up back at his place beside Olivia. 

"Oh, uh Katherine Hale. They found a bracelet on her wrist. She ran away about two weeks ago from her small Colorado town. "

"The unsub's crossing state lines. He's mobile." Olivia added. 

"If the remains are related to the same killer, Where's he been for ten years?" Derek asked as Gideon walked into the room with a large box. "Killing." He said, placing it on the table.

"Unsolved case files going back 30 years. Every case, the victimology is the same. The unwanted. This box is just the tip of the iceberg. 13 cases spanning 30 years. Same m.o., right rib bone is missing. It's him Hotch it's the same killer." Jason commented as the team started flipping through the files. 

"All the remains were dumped in remote areas and always near interstate 80. and up until now, no remains this intact or this close to the actual time of kill have been found." 

"Never two victims dumped at the same time." Gideon added. 

"All of these killings- the work of just one man?" Emily asked. 

Gideon stared at the images on the screen. "The most prolific serial killer ever."


	19. No Way Out pt.2

Reid and Olivia watched with amused expression on their faces as the officer at the from desk of the police station gruffly handed back their badges. "Is it just me, or do you get the feeling that were not welcome here?" Spencer asked. 

"Oh it's not us- we're awesome." Olivia replied with a smile, "It's what we represent. I imagine the Government's not all that popular around here." 

"You can't make me go in there- I know what my rights are! No- don't make me go!" A woman shouted as she was being subdued by an officer. "No, I don't want to go- I know my rights!" She screamed at him as she continued to resist. "What are you looking at, princess!?" She yelled at Olivia when she came near, causing Spencer to send another amused look her way. 

For a moment she broke free and surprised him by grabbing the front of his blazer. "He's coming. He's coming back, and there's nothing you can do about it!" She warned him. "Do you hear me? Nothing. Nothing!" She yelled as the officer pulled her back towards the cell. A small object clattered against the floor and Olivia reached forward to grab it. 

"Excuse me." She said, stepping towards the woman. "She dropped this." The officer held his hand out to stop her, but the woman immediately calmed, staring at the object in Olivia's hand. 

"It's harmless." Olivia said, handing it back. 

The woman took several shaky breaths before accepting it. "Thank you." She said calmly. 

"What is it?" Olivia asked. 

They watched as the woman brought the object to her lips and blew into it, a high pitched tune tweeted out as she walked away. 

"A psycho with a whistle." Spencer said from behind her. "That's not too weird." 

Olivia chuckled and turned around, reaching out to straighten his blazer for him. "Come on, doctor. Back to work."

***

"Early toxological analysis of the victim's blood indicated high levels of ketamine." Spencer said, handing Hotch a print out of the report. 

"Ketamine is primarily a horse tranquilizer." Hotch said, addressing the room of officers. "It's also used as a date-rape drug. In street lingo it's known as being stuck in a k-hole."

"So his victims were completely conscious when he killed them? Sheriff Georgia asked. "Imagine what she must have gone through."

"It's essential for this unsub that he sees the terror in his victim's eyes. That is what gets him off." Olivia started. 

Hotch continued, "He's either had medical training, or he's honed his skills over the years."

"Look for a man in his mid-to-late- fifties, highly intelligent, methodically and obsessively clean." Gideon said. 

"His vehicle is most likely an RV, muted in colour. Neither old nor new and in perfect working order." Emily added. 

"It will have a CB, radar detectors, and police band radio. All these things have helped him evade you." Derek explained. 

Hotch took over again. "This vehicle is his killing room. It'll be soundproofed. Surgical instruments are on the walls. There's a stirrup chair or autopsy table in it."

"All of his kills are recorded. If not on video, then a journal. That he carries with him in his right-hand inside jacket pocket."

"How could you know that?" One of the officers asked. 

"Tool marks on the remains indicate that he's left handed." Olivia answered

"This man is void of all normal human feelings."

The room immediately jumped into action after that. 

"We have roadblocks on every interstate, track or laned in or out of this town. We'll shut down this state if we have to." The Deputy Sheriff declared.

"Stop every RV, truck and trailer." Hotch added. 

Gideon walked up to the Sheriff who was staring off in a daze. "Something troubling you?" He asked. 

"That profile you gave, it reminds me of a story I once heard." She stood, taking a deep breath, "There's someone you should meet." 

The Sheriff unlocked the cell for Olivia, Gideon and Reid to enter behind her. "How you feeling, Jane?" She asked the woman sitting on the bench.

"I don't wanna go home, George." She said defiantly. It was the same woman who had shouted at them earlier. "Please, don't make me go home." She begged. 

"Jane?" The sheriff said, placing a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder. "These people are from the FBI. I'd like you to tell them your story."

"Why? So they can make fun of me too?" Jane said, turning away. 

Olivia stepped up, taking a seat beside Jane on the bench. "That's very pretty." She said, gesturing to the object the woman held in her hands. "Did you make it?"

Jane held up the object for Olivia to see properly. "It was a gift." She said handing it to her. 

"Oh." Olivia said admiring the piece, then she looked up at Jane properly. "What happened to you?" She asked. 

Jane looked up at Gideon and Reid hesitantly before gazing back down at her hands. "My car broke down." She began. "The engine went out on me and... You know in those days they didn't have cell phones, so I tried to fix it myself. 

Then I felt... The presence. And then everything went white. I was in a spaceship." She said dreamily. "And I could see myself. It was like time was suspended- I could feel everything. And there- there were strange maps on the walls... Diagrams of all the stars. It was cold. It was very, very cold."

She stood up then and looked straight at Olivia. "And the alien, he did thing to me. He touched me, very softly and... He stroked my hair. He drew lines all over my body. And the whole time he was standing there, smiling down on me. And then I looked into his eyes... And I wasn't afraid anymore. I don't know why."

"Then what did he do?" Gideon asked. 

"And then I... Was back in my own bed and it was the next morning."

"How long ago did this happen?" Olivia asked.

Jane smiled, "I was 19." She giggled. "It was 30 years ago." 

"And did you ever see him again?"

"Oh, I see him. I see him every time I shut my eyes."

The party left the room to debrief. "The strange maps on the walls could have been anatomical drawings." Reid pointed out. 

"What about the fact that she could see herself?" The sheriff asked.

"A mirrored ceiling... So his victims could see themselves getting dismembered." Gideon answered. 

"Every time I think I can't get any worse, it does."

"Her subconscious mind has created this delusion, that she was abducted by an alien. Its possible she's the only one that survived." Olivia pointed out. 

"Why did he let her go?"

"She said when she looked into his eyes she felt relaxed. From that moment the one thing that he wanted... What she didn't give him. Fear."


	20. No Way Out pt.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is my personal goal to give you as much reading material as possible over the holidays. Those of you who have bookmarked this story- I see you. Safe to say from this episode on, there will be more expanding character moments, not as much straight dialogue. I just needed a strong backdrop to create this relationship from. But now that I have it... wink wink*

The team spent the rest of the day conducting interviews and knocking on doors in trailer parks. 

"To get away with murder, you simply don't tell anyone." Spencer mused as he and Olivia were finishing up with their door-knocking. 

"And the only people he told were the people he killed. And he took from them what he needed, cash, credit cards..."

Spencer pulled out his phone, "I'm going to call Garcia and see if anything Katherine Hale owned was used after her death."

"And then he moved on to his next victim." Olivia murmured. 

They moved on once Reid was finished. He stopped suddenly noticing a trailer parked nearby. "Maybe he's not in an RV, maybe he's got a trailer."

"That way he could unhook and move about freely." Olivia agreed. 

"He could also hide it, that's why we can't find him." 

"He's waiting for the roadblocks to clear. Spencer, you're a genius! Okay, if he has a truck it's going to be just like his trailer- muted in colour, and American-made."

Spencer looked up, "It's going to be dark soon, we should head back and call Gideon. I think the unsub's in town somewhere."

"Gideon is dead set on catching this guy. The officers are all being relieved so they can sleep, but he's not going to budge." Morgan said into the earpiece. 

"Well if he's not stopping, we're not stopping." Olivia sighed, turning to Spencer. "It's going to be another caffeine-fueled night." She warned him. 

"He basically tore the Sheriff a new one. But she's going home, and she's talking about taking Jane with her so she doesn't have to spend the night in a cell again." 

"Alright, Derek. Thanks." She said before hanging up. 

Immediately after, her phone rang again.

"Yeah?" In a second her expression turned serious. She handed Reid the keys and he bolted behind her towards the SUV. She clicked the phone shut as they slammed the doors. "The Sheriff's been taken. It's him." She said quickly. 

Spencer nodded and immediately fired up the sirens, pulling out of the lot in a hurry. 

They made it right behind the rest of the team. Derek leading the way as they cleared the house. "Clear." He announced. 

The deputy sheriff made to pick something up off the floor when Derek stopped him. "Silo, Silo, don't touch anything. We need to profile this room."

"Profile? You said the call was made five hours ago by the unsub, right outside this house, now what's the profile?! He took George!" He spat before leaving the room. 

"Why?" Gideon asked out load. 

"Alright, we need to work fast." Hotch announced, taking charge."

"She enters the house, and then it's habitual." Derek began.

Emily continued. "She drops her keys, hits the answering machine, takes off her gun belt, moves towards the kitchen."

"He's never taken a woman of prominence. Why take the Sheriff?" 

"And not her gun- Silo call your office, see if she was planning to meet anyone." Hotch instructed.

"Wait, Derek. You told me. She took Jane with her from the station." Olivia said. 

"So she was protecting, then she must have tried to make a go for her gun." Derek said.

"She didn't make it." Spencer announced, holding up a syringe between his glove-covered fingers. 

"So he takes care of George," Derek analyzed, "And goes after what he came here for. Jane."

"So those footprints, they're probably hers." Olivia pointed out. "They go to the back. She escaped."

"The unsub knows the ketamine is going to wear off so he has to act." Reid adds. 

"And he still doesn't have what he came here for." Gideon concluded. "So for leverage, he takes the Sheriff."

"Which means sooner or later, he'll contact us." Hotch's phone rang and he answered it waiting a beat before turning to the rest of the team. "Katherine Hale's cell phone just came back on in the middle of town." He announced.

"Let's do this." The deputy said, already on the move. 

"He thinks we have Jane." Gideon said, falling into step with Hotch. 

"He's gonna want to trade." Derek warned. 

"So we have to act fast. You go to town, we'll go to Jane's."

***

Gideon and Derek headed towards the GPS location while the rest of the team pulled up in front of Jane's house. They immediately fanned out, moving towards the door when Olivia heard it. A clinking sound. Just before they were ready to enter the looked to her right. "Guys..." She said hesitantly.

"These windchimes are made of bone. Tell me that doesn't look like human rib bones?"

After they cleared the house the all went back outside to collect every single piece they could find. "It's completely empty, she's not here." Hotch announced.

"Well, he's obviously been here before and left these... Gifts for her." Reid said, examining a piece. 

"How romantic." Olivia scoffed. 

"Well, his version of romance." Hotch countered.

"Um... Are you trying to say that he keeps coming back here because he's in love with her?" She questioned, placing another piece in an evidence bag. 

"It's impossible." Reid said, "Sexual sadists can't feel love."

"Well, define love." Hotch murmured. 

"Chemically it involves surging brain elements called monoamines, dopamines, norepinephrine and serotonin. Love chemicals controlled by phenethylamine, also found in-"

"Chocolate." Olivia cut in with a smile. "I love chocolate."

"Peas too, it's also found in peas." He said animatedly. "Reid- Reid, stop, please."Hotch begged. 

The man immediately blushed and looked away towards Olivia who was smiling softly. 

"Spread out everybody, keep looking!" Hotch said aloud. Before walking away in the direction of a shed. 

The others followed behind him as Olivia leaned over and whispered to Reid. "Peas can be sexy. I'm not sure how, but why not?" She teased. 

A few steps later and Hotch kicked the door in. "FBI." He announced. The three of them cleared the space and began looking around. Olivia and Hotch followed as Reid approached a hanging tarp at one end. He pulled it down to reveal a trailer parked behind the structure. 

They scaled along the side of the vehicle, careful to hide themselves from the windows. Reid reached up with one arm and nodded to Hotch before opening the door and allowing him entry. 

"Clear." He said softly after a moment. 

"Oh boy." Olivia breathed as they looked around. It was entirely too creepy how well they had gotten this profile. It was all there. The tools on the wall, the mirrored ceiling, the operating table. All sparkling clean aside form the fresh blood staining the table's surface. 

"I thought I'd seen everything." Hotch murmured. He looked down at his feet. "Guys."

"What is it?" Reid asked, afraid to know the answer. 

"It's a coffin." Hotch said, bending down to open the box. A woman's dead body lay inside. 

"Aaron. There's another one here." Olivia said reaching down on her side. The sheriff was inside, wide awake. 

"Shh. Don't try to speak. We've got you." Hotch said softly, reaching under her to lift the woman up. "Thank God." she gasped. 

"I'll call Morgan." Olivia said, reaching for her phone.


	21. No Way Out pt.4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve, my loves!

"He did what?!" She asked, incredulously now that they were all outside again. "Okay, we're on our way."

She turned to her team. "We've got to get to the dinner. Now."

Hotch and Spencer sat up front while Olivia remained in the back seat with George. When they pulled up, Aaron exited the vehicle and helped her out just as her husband turned and ran to her, wrapping her up in his arms.

"George, honey! Are you alright?" He asked. Olivia looked on feeling bittersweet. There were still more people to save now and her exhaustion was getting the best of her. Spencer saw the melancholy look on her tired face and nudged her gently with his shoulder. 

"He killed Tommy's teacher." The sheriff gasped. "I saw it. Annie, she was only 22. What's wrong?" She asked, seeing the look on his face. 

"They found the school bus abandoned." Her husband explained. "It's outside of town."

"Tommy's supposed to be on that field trip- where is he?" 

"He's safe." He assured her. "He's fine. He's with my mom. But that man? He also killed the school bus driver."

"How?" She demanded turning around to the agents. "We had the whole town shut down, there was no way out."

"What was the one vehicle we weren't looking for?" Hotch explained. 

"A school bus." Reid finished. 

"More importantly, where are the children?" 

It was then that a squad car pulled up and an officer came out. "Sir, I found her walking the streets." He said, opening the door to reveal Jane in the back seat. 

"Jane, he's been coming back to this town for years to see you." Aaron said, holding her by the arm. 

"All those year? Why?" She asked.

"He says he's in love with you."

"He's in love with me- why?"

"It's what he says."

"He hides out in your old barn and watches you, and when he leaves, he leaves these wind chimes as gifts." Olivia explained gently. 

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

"They're not beautiful. They are the remains of people he took, tortured, and killed. He is not an alien, you were abducted by a serial killer. "

"He did come for me, didn't he- not George? He came for me, didn't he?" She asked desperately. She turned to the sheriff. "You told me to run. But I didn't want to run. I wanted to see him again. To see his eyes and to see his face and I don't know. Somehow it just felt like I was coming home!" She exclaimed. 

Derek and Gideon escorted the man from the Dinner at that exact moment. "Jane!" He gasped, setting his eyes on her. 

Jane immediately reached out for him. "He has the children, Jane!" The sheriff said desperately. "He has our children." The deputy repeated.

"And we'll find them" Derek said. 

"And if we don't they'll die of exposure!" The man yelled. "He hasn't got Tommy, George. But what if he did? Hand him over."

"Silo."

"What choice do we have?" He asked. 

"Not this one!"

"Tell them, Jason. Tell them I have no interest in harming children. You've studied me for years. Have I ever once harmed a child?" The man asked. "It does nothing for me." He grimaced. "Give me Jane, and they'll have their children back. With Jane in my life... I will never harm another human being." He promised. 

"They found me, Rick. They'll find the children. Trust them." The sheriff told her deputy. 

"Take me with you, frank." Jason said. "Just you and me."

"And my Jane?"

"You'll take me to where the kids are?" He asked. 

"Happily. I couldn't have that on my conscience." He smiled. 

And so it was decided. Jason drove, while The other two sat in the back seat. They pulled away and the rest of the team and the police officers waited restlessly for his call. 

Olivia stood nervously behind Hotch as they watched the vehicle shrink in the distance. Her eyes never leaving the little black dot until it faded away into nothing. Letting out a sigh, she felt a hand on her back. She didn't need to look to see it was Spencer. She could feel him beside her. Gently, she leaned back into his touch, hiding the moment from the others. But it didn't matter, they weren't looking. They were waiting. 

It was hours before they heard anything. Hours of sitting, of waiting. Hours of bad coffee, which is why at some point in the night, Spencer had switched to bringing Olivia hot cups of tea instead. Because every time he did, she would smile up at him in thanks, before going back to silence like the rest. He sat next to her, sharing her feeling of nervousness. 

Spencer knew he could get through a few dozen books in the time it took, but he didn't want to try. Didn't want to distract himself. He just sat there with her. 

Finally the call came. The team rushed into the SUVs that waited outside and drove in the darkness through the barren land where they could finally see the glow of police lights cutting through the black night. 

Their sirens echoed as the team poured from their vehicles towards Jason and the ambulances where the children were being looked after. 

"He told you where they were?" Emily asked first. 

"They were just over that ridge." Gideon pointed, his eyes never leaving the group of children. 

"Which way did he go?" Hotch asked, already knowing the answer. 

"West. We won't find him tonight. But we will find him eventually."

***

Olivia sat alone on the couch as the plane flew across the dark night sky. She had swapped out of her jacket early in the flight and replaced it with a cozy sweatshirt. It made her feel just a little bit more human after such a long and difficult day. 

Movement beside her made her look up to see Spencer approach with a book in his hands. "Can't sleep?" She asked as he plopped down beside her. 

"I thought reading would help." He said, setting the book aside. 

"I don't think much of anything is going to help until we're back in our beds." She said solemnly.

Suddenly she propped her legs beneath her and made herself comfortable against Spencer's shoulder. "Tell me more of Dr. Reid's fun facts." She asked, her head finding a comfortable spot against his collarbone. 

Spencer smiled, "Is that what I'm good for? Using useless trivia to help you fall asleep?" He joked.

"Still undecided." Olivia smirked. 

"And why's that?" 

"Because I don't know all the other things you're good at yet." She teased. A pause and a slight cough joined what she hoped was a furious blush. "Right." He answered, inspiring for the first time that day, a laugh from Olivia. Spencer smiled, he could live with that.


	22. The Big Game/ Revelations

"I'm getting drinks." Emily announced as she stood up.

"No, no, no!" Olivia interrupted as she arrived at her side, shucking her coat off her shoulders. "I owe you guys a round, remember?" She smiled as she was greeted warmly by exclamations around the table. "Sorry, I'm late." She apologized, kissing Emily on the cheek before making her way to Penelope, Aaron and his wife. 

"Oh Hailey!" Olivia greeted happily taking in her appearance. "Aaron was right, you're still gorgeous as ever." She smiled. 

"So how are they treating you at the BAU, Olivia?" Hailey asked. "She means, am I being nice to you?" Aaron scoffed. 

"Actually everyone's been incredibly nice." Olivia smiled, "But I'm gonna run and get those drinks- I'll be right back. Pen?" She asked, turning back to the woman who was seemingly distracted by something on the dance floor.

Olivia shook her head when the woman ignored her and headed to the bar. As she waited for the drinks she looked around, hoping to spot the rest of the team. She found JJ playing a round of darts with a couple people and gave her a small wave when their eyes met. 

After paying for the drinks, she thanked the bartender and balanced the 4 glasses in her arms, cutting across through the corner of the dance floor to get back to her seat. That's where she spotted Derek dancing rather intimately with a woman she didn't recognize. 

She smirked and continued to the table passing the glasses around when she arrived. "Well I found Derek." She teased looking back onto the dance floor. 

"Just look at him move!" Garcia commented. "Like a cat..." 

Olivia and Hailey erupted in giggles as Hotch hung his head in a smirk. "More like a dog." Emily countered.

"He did not ask them to dance- they asked him." Garcia defended. 

"Okay," Emily conceded. "Okay, he's a cat."

"An alley cat." Hailey joked. 

"Come on, Hailey- let's show them how it's done!" Hotch said suddenly, Grasping his wife's hand and leading her away from the table.

"Oh!" Emily cried in approval as Olivia laughed and clapped her hands together 

"Game if you are!" Hailey said happily as she shot the ladies a wink before following her husband.

"That is so sweet." Emily commented. 

Penelope stood up. "I'm going to the loo, do not let anyone steal my seat." She instructed. 

"I'll guard it with my life." Olivia promised. She turned to Emily. "So where is everyone else?"

"Um..." Emily said looking around. "JJ is schooling some guys in darts." She said pointing to the corner.

"Right I saw her." Olivia said.

"And Reid has found some drinking trivia thing over there."

Olivia turned around in her seat to see Spencer animatedly rattling off facts with a happy expression on his face. She smiled as she watched him. 

"... And Gideon never showed up." Emily concluded. 

"Huh, is that typical?"

"Most of the time." 

The women continued talking until JJ joined them, a serious expression covering her features. 

"No." Emily started.

"Yup." 

"I'll get the cabs." Olivia said, reaching for her phone. 

"I'll get the team." JJ agreed.


	23. The Big Game/ Revelations pt.2

Later the team was back in the roundtable room trying to drink as much coffee as their bodies would allow. "You know- it never fails." Derek complained, "Just as I'm getting my groove thang going- bam. We're back at the BAU."

"Oh I think you had your fair share of that already." Olivia teased, walking in behind him. Derek laughed and grabbed her hand. "Oh girl, you can never have enough." He teased, spinning her on the spot. 

"You know, statistically a case doesn't come in with any more frequency if you're at a party or a gathering than if you aren't. It's a trick of the mind, we merely remember the one's that come in more." Reid stated, momentarily distracted by Olivia's hand that fell on his shoulder as she moved to take her seat. 

"There you have it." She smiled. "The doctor has spoken."

"So is it really that hard for you to get your groove 'thang' going again?" Emily teased, making Penelope giggle beside her. 

"Only when he's sleeping." Gideon commented as he walked through the door and shrugged off his coat. 

"Where were you tonight?" Hotch asked, sipping his own black coffee. 

"I told you, I went to the Smithsonian." The man said gruffly, dropping himself down into a chair. 

"You missed a good time." Emily smiled.

"I had a good time." He countered. 

"Well that's definitely over." JJ interrupted as she headed directly for the screen. She pointed the remote at it and the images immediately flashed to life 

"Georgia. The Kyles, Dennis and Lacy were murdered an hour ago in their suburban Atlanta home."

"An hour ago?" Hotch asked. 

"Police were on scene unusually fast." JJ clarified. "One of the unsubs called them and told them that the other was about to murder the victims."

"You're kidding." Derek said. 

"From inside the house." JJ added. "According to the dispatcher, the first male sounded terrified and begged them to get there because the other, who they both identified as Raphael, was about to kill the sinners that lived there."

"Sinners?" 

"Yeah, the 911 call centre is going to send Garcia a copy of the tape."

"How fast was the police response time?" Reid asked. 

"Four minutes, twenty-six seconds. During which time," She pointed at the screen again and the image changed, causing Penelope to look away. "Raphael managed to do this."

"In four and a half minutes..." Olivia looked up at the images in surprise.

"Mr. Kyle is a dot com millionaire. His company is one of the largest employers in the community. There's going to be media coverage. Also, when they arrived, the police found this displayed prominently on the bed."

She displayed the image on the screen that Hotch began to read aloud. "Revelations Chapter six, verse eight. And I looked in behold a pale horse, and his name that sat upon him was Death." 

"And hell followed with him." Gideon finished. 

***

The team sat in relative quiet for the majority of the plane ride. Each flipping through their case files trying to better understand what they needed from their profile. 

Derek was setting up the laptop for a video transmission with Garcia when Olivia turned to him beside her. "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

"Unsubs with a cause are never good." He stated plainly. 

"Pets." Garcia said as she was connected. "I just got the 911 call from the Georgia state police." She clicked a button and it began to play as the rest of the team gathered around. 

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I'm at 1527 Chestnut Drive."

"I know where you're calling from, sir. What's your emergency?"

"He thinks they're too greedy. They have too much."

"Too much what?"

"Stuff. You know, possessions. Things they don't need. Hurry!"

"You're calling because these people have too much stuff?"

"No, I'm calling because Raphael-

"That's enough. I know why he's calling. He's calling because Raphael is going to kill the sinners that live here."

"I'm sorry, did you say someone is killing somebody?"

The tape clicked off. 

"Well, unsub one definitely sounds frightened." Emily began. "Maybe he's doing this against his will."

"I doubt it." Jason shook his head. "He whispered."

"He could have called out to save them instead of calling 911." Hotch clarified. 

"Not if he had a gun to his head." Derek offered. 

Gideon countered, "If he had a gun to his head, why would he have dialed 911? . 

"The second unsub said Raphael was going to kill someone." JJ observed, "Is there a third?"

"Referring to oneself in the third person is not uncommon in an unsub." Reid began, "Ted Bundy gave thoroughly detailed accounts of his murders, but he never actually admitted to doing any of it. He would just say, 'the killer'."

"Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and run the name Raphael through the Georgia criminal databases as well as our own." Garcia said from the screen. 

"Thank you, Garcia."

"Ever so welcome, my liege."

"We have a killing team on a mission in rural Georgia." Hotch continued. "We know what that means."

"They're not going to stop until the mission's complete." Derek finished. 

"We need to hit the ground running, JJ- we need an inside picture of the victims. Victimology can be critically important in a mission-based spree."

"Already on it."

"Prentiss and Olivia, go where the bodies are, examine the wounds. If they managed to kill 2 victims in four and a half minutes we need to know how."

"You got it."

"I'm gonna set up at the Atlanta field office and go over case files from the state. It would be highly unusual for a first kill to be this efficient."

"Reid, you and Morgan come with me to the crime scene." Gideon added. 

"We land in less than an hour, everybody try to get some rest." Hotch finished.


	24. The Big Game/ Revelations pt.3

"They're all long, deep gashes. Each victim has virtually the same wounds- both throats cut, a vertical gash up one arm from wrist to elbow and a vertical gash down one leg from crotch to upper thigh." The medical examiner informed them. 

"Major arteries." Emily observed as she looked closer at the wounds. 

"It's damned efficient." The M.E. Agreed. 

"How much knowledge of anatomy would someone need to do this?" Olivia asked. 

"Anyone with a basic understanding of the body knows where these arteries are."

"And do you have any idea which one of these wounds were delivered first?" 

"Um... There was a- there was active blood flow from each of the wounds, so they were probably all delivered at about the same time." He said, consulting his chart. 

"Four and a half minutes." Olivia reminded Emily. 

"With any of these wounds, the victim would bleed out quickly." The doctor agreed. "Almost like an animal at slaughter... No. Exactly like an animal at slaughter. A deer, or-or a lamb or a cow something like that. You cut the throat first, then- then sometimes open up the other major arteries to assist in draining the carcass."

"So maybe a hunter?" Emily asked. 

"Or, or a farmer... Pretty much anyone in rural Georgia." He said disappointedly. 

"Well, thank you for your time." Olivia said, tossing her gloves in the garbage. 

"Of course." 

The women walked out of the room. 

"Needle." Emily began. 

"Haystack." Olivia finished. 

***

"He says the world is a cesspool of greed, lust, disease."

"That sounds like unsub number one." Emily pointed out as they watched the video on the bullpen. She sat beside Gideon who watched it intently. 

"He says redemption must be sought. We must all repent."

"And this is the one who referred to being Raphael?" Hotch asked.

"Or God." Jason countered. 

"It's not God." Derek pointed out unimpressed, "It's someone sitting right there next to him, telling this guy what to say."

"As the Lord our God spoke of Leviticus-" 

"That's a new voice." Olivia said. 

"A third unsub?" Emily asked.

"Could just be recorded from a religious program or sermon?" 

"Punish ye seven times..." JJ recited. 

Gideon nodded, "Five more victims." 

"These images were shot from the exact spot on the dresser where that computer sat." Derek said, pointing to the laptop Reid was studying at a different desk. 

"If this video came from that computer's camera then what- did the unsubs bring it with them?" Hotch asked. 

"As far as we can tell this computer belonged to the Kyles." Reid said. "Garcia can do a better analysis, but it has their banking statements, vacation photos."

Hotch continued to narrate the video. "One comes into the room and immediately goes after Mr. Kyle. What, did the other unsub turn the camera on?"

"We might be asking the wrong questions." Gideon said. "This video, this message, it's important. Clearly they want the world to see this. They need it."

Olivia looked over at Reid who was intently staring at the laptop's screen in confusion. 

"Spencer?" She asked, trying to get his attention. 

"Agent Franks?" The doctor whispered as he stood up and away from the desk. "Does this building have wireless internet?" 

"Yeah, why?" 

"That camera's on right now. The computer's connected itself to the internet, it's streaming a video feed somewhere." Spencer clarified. 

"Can we trace the stream to the destination?" Hotch asked quietly. 

"Keep it open, Garcia might be able-"

"Guys." Olivia said quietly. They all turned to stare at the screen as it flashed black. The words 'The armies of Satan shall not prevail' illuminated across before powering down completely. 

"It turned off." Spencer said. 

"So they're controlling it remotely?" 

"It that even possible?" Emily asked. 

"Yeah, you can totally access someone's computer remotely." Garcia said, Derek had called her immediately and now she was on speaker. 

"It's actually done a lot today. When a mortal calls for tech support and instead of giving you instructions, the tech can work on your computer from wherever she is."

"And they maintain the access even after the work is done?' Hotch asked.

"They're not supposed to, but I suppose you could install a trojan horse during the service."

"It's a- something left in the computer to be turned on later the same way that websites get pop-up adds onto your computer." Reid explained to Gideon who looked very confused. 

Hotch spoke up, "Garcia, can you check the Kyles' phone records and see if they called for tech support in the last 6 months?"

"Right-o. Oh- and if you get me the Kyles' laptop I can search the drive for anything implanted there."

"Fast as we can." Hotch said ending the call and turning to the rest in the room. "Alright, what do we have so far?"

"Well, the killings are clinically efficient. They had the ear marks of a slaughter, as in an animal." Emily started.

"Or a sacrifice." Derek chimed in. 

"We haven't been able to find anything in federal or state databases that suggest similar crimes. As far as I can tell, it's the first in a series." Hotch added. 

Reid spoke up, "At lease one member of the team may believe he's killing in the name of God, suggesting a psychopathy that should display extreme levels of disorganization. Yet there are forensic countermeasures, and somebody in control enough to do complicated computer work. One member of the team's organized, the other's extremely disorganized. But what's strange is that the one we would consider as being most in control, the one that made the phone call, didn't stop the other one from killing. Usually the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head."

"Alright, so let's look at that." Derek said, "Unsub one called the police before the killing but he didn't leave time for them to get there. Is the phone call just the guy working on a defence in case of capture? I mean maybe he didn't want to stop the other, but he did everything he had to do to cover himself."

"So... What do we have so far?" Gideon asked. The room was very quiet. "Not enough."

An hour later and they were all still working with the same amount of information. Olivia let out a smirk every time Reid shifted uncomfortably to try and mask the growling sounds his stomach was making. They didn't have much of a breakfast and now they were working through lunch. 

Eventually she gave up and got to her feet. "Anyone else need a water or something?" She asked. 

"Please." JJ said, flipping through case files. 

Olivia nodded and headed out into the hallway. She walked up to a set of vending machines and after purchasing the two bottles of water she glanced thoughtfully through the choices of the other. She smirked and punched in the code, massaging the back of her neck with her hand as she waited for the snack to drop. 

When she came back in the room she placed one bottle in front of JJ who immediately gulped some down in gratitude. "Oh thank you." She murmured, and Olivia smiled back. Heading back to her seat she tossed Spencer the bright blue wrapped rice crispy treat. 

He's face blushed pink as he smiled, opening the wrapper. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome." Olivia smiled back, holding his gaze for a moment before turning back to her notes. 

"So, It looks like Franks is right. None of the open knife cases fit." JJ said, walking up to Hotch at the board. "Tell me there's a but."

"Well, I looked at it a different way. I looked for unsolved home invasions. Three months ago there was a prowler called in directly outside of the Kyles' house."

"A prowler?" Reid asked. 

"The witness was walking his dog at a nearby park, going back to his car he saw a man in dark clothing go over the back wall and start sneaking up to the house. By the time the state police got there, prowler was gone."

"Only one man?"

"Apparently."

"Was the witness able to describe him?" Olivia asked. 

"If he did, it's not in this case file."

"Is there a name and address for the witness?" Hotch asked.

"Tobias Hankle. Lives about an hour from here." 

"It's a long shot, but he might be able to give us a description. Why don't you and Reid go out there, see if you can find Mr. Hankle and see if he remembers something."

"On it." Spencer said, following JJ with his snack still in his hand. He turned back at the last moment and made eye contact with Olivia, sending her a nod and a soft smile. 

She returned it, and then was distracted by a detective entering the room. "Agent Hotchner."

"Yeah?"

"State just responded to another murder." 

Aaron sighed and turned to face Olivia. "Call Morgan and Gideon, have them meet us there."

"Yes, Sir." She answered, reaching for her phone.

When they arrived, there was a large amount of commotion happening in the neighbourhood. Detective." Hotch greeted as they stepped through the front door. 

"Yeah." The man said, shaking his hand. "Well he called again. This time it was different. Only one of them spoke."

"Which one?" Olivia asked. 

"Pretty sure it was Raphael. I wrote down what he said and I-I got a recording being brought out here." He said, reaching for his book. "It took us almost eleven minutes to respond and we only had but the one unit close." 

"Could the unsub know that?" Derek asked.

"Lack of police presence out here has gotten some local media attention recently. Now, the 911 call wasn't the only thing that was different. Tis particular scene is weird in another way. The male victim upstairs.. Throat cut. "

"Why is that weird?" Gideon asked as Morgan and Olivia headed upstairs. 

"He doesn't live here."

Olivia's eyebrows shot up as that piece of information hit her. "You hear that?" She asked. 

"Yeah, something pretty bad went on here." He gestured in front of him and Olivia entered the room first. 

"Alright." She sighed as they took in the scene. The man was naked and laying face first in the carpet. His blood staining the majority of the floor beneath him and the sheets around his waist. There was arterial spatter on the walls and he furniture. 

Both of them immediately changed their body positions and looked at the body from a different angle. "Don't look now but we're on candid camera." Derek whispered. 

"Uh huh."

The laptop on the desk behind them was open and facing the crime scene. They knew it would be on so the ubsubs could watch. 

They came backstairs and ran straight into Hotch and Gideon. "There's a laptop set up on the dresser upstairs with a pretty good view of the room."

"Garcia's trying to trace the camera's feed back to its destination." 

Hotch nodded his head towards the door and they followed him outside. "So let's work this out, what does the new behaviour tell us?"

"There was only one unsub this time? Uh, Rahael. Alone?" Olivia suggested. 

"Not if he's the psychotic, he wouldn't be capable of operating this efficiently. Someone was here who can control himself. Make sure no evidence was left behind."

"At the first crime unsub one called the police, right?" Derek tried. "This time it was Raphael. Why? It's like the phone call is necessary. It's part of the signature."

"Have we ever seen this in case history?" 

"A mixture of extreme psychosis in a controlled individual? No. On of the most common indicators of extreme psychosis is solitude."

"They don't exactly play well with others." Olivia pointed out. 

"Was Garcia able to find anything on Raphael in the records?" Gideon asked. 

"Not yet."

"So why is he naming himself? Twice? Certainly not worried about us getting that name. In fact he wants us to know it."

"An alias?" Olivia asked. 

"Or Raphael doesn't actually exist."

"So we're not looking for a team?" Derek asked.

"Raphael's the name of one of the archangels. Maybe that first phone call wasn't two people but one. 

"And the third voice?" Derek asked. 

"That I don't know about yet."

Hotch cut in, "If Mrs. Douglas is Jezebel, there is an especially unpleasant death in her future. We need to get back to the station."

"Garcia's running voice analysis on the first 911 call to see if there actually are two voices." Morgan said as they arrived. "She's also going to peel the third voice off the video tape and see if that gets anything."

"Garcia's got the latest video up. It's worse than we thought." Olivia said, beckoning the team into the conference room. 

They all watched as the unsub outlined "Jezebel's death". 

"Oh my god." Olivia whispered turning her head away from the screen, the sound of the dogs ripping through flesh still an assault on her ears. 

"You can turn that off." Hotch instructed, turning away himself. 

"Wait." The detective said, covering Emily's hand over the mouse.

"What, you haven't seen enough?" Derek asked. 

"No, those dogs... Those three dogs attacked someone a couple of months ago." He explained, looking closer at the screen. "I would have had them impounded but the victim knew the owner. The neighbour. He didn't want to press charges."

"You sure?" Olivia asked. 

"As God is my witness." The man confirmed. He reached for his book and started flipping through. "Three mangy mixes." Me murmured. "I knew those dogs looked sick. I called animal control- I don't know if they ever followed up on it. Here it is."

"You have the owner's name?" Hotch asked.

"Hankle. Tobias Hankle."

"Oh my god." Aaron and Olivia locked eyes in horror. 

"What?" Derek demanded. 

"That's where Spencer and JJ are." Olivia said, her heart rate spiking.


	25. The Big Game/ Revelations pt.4

The whole ride was filled with nerves. Olivia sat in the back with Emily and Gideon, staring out the window and willing her body to stay calmer than she felt. Her stomach was in knots, a constant state of worry that left her hands sweating and her fingers twitching in her lap. 

Emily looked over at her and gently placed her hand over hers, grasping tightly in solidarity. Their vehicle was escorted onto the property by several police vehicles, their sirens and lights cutting through the rural countryside. 

The team emptied out of the SUV, "Morgan." The detective stopped him. "There's a barn around back."

Derek looked behind him, "Prentiss, Liv. Come on." 

In that moment, Olivia was an FBI agent again, cold and calculated. She had never dealt with this before in Crisis Negotiations, worrying about other people so intimately. But it was that training she called on now. She concentrated on the feel of the Kevlar vest pressing against her shoulders, the material compressing her chest. Her hands met the cold barrel of her weapon like it was an extension of herself. Ready.

They followed Derek's lead, stepping into the barn and clearing it corner by corner. Suddenly a flash of movement caught her eye. "FBI!" It was JJ. 

"Don't move!" She shouted in a daze. 

"JJ, it's Morgan! JJ don't shoot! It's okay." 

Olivia stepped up to her and took the lowered weapon from her hands, running her own soothingly up her back. "You're okay." She assured her. 

JJ looked around at the bodies of the three dogs on the ground. "Tobias Hankle is the unsub."

"Yeah we know." Derek said softly.

"We just thought he was a witness." She said, nodding at the dogs. "I had to kill them."

"JJ, where's Reid?" Olivia asked. 

"They just completely tore her apart. There's nothing even left."

"JJ look at me." Emily commanded. "Look at me. Where's Reid?"

She seemed to snap out of her trance as she stared at the woman. "Uh, we split up. He said he was going to go around back."

Olivia left JJ in Emily's arms and followed Derek around to the back of the barn. 

Please. Please. Please. 

Together they searched the field and the property for what felt like hours. Eventually Derek turned to her. "He's not here." 

She nodded her head in defeat. "He took him." She confirmed. "Damnit." 

"Hey." Derek said, taking a hold of her arm. "We'll get him back. Come on."

When they returned JJ was sitting in the back of an ambulance getting checked out and Emily was waiting with her in the rain with the detective. 

"Hey, any sign of him?" Emily asked. 

Olivia just shook her head.

"We've got roadblocks surrounding the area. He won't get far." The detective said, excusing himself. 

"You can't find Reid?" JJ asked, the guilt written all over her face.

"Not yet." Derek said softly. 

***  
When Penelope arrived it was the next morning already. No one had slept. No one had eaten. They were all sitting around the dining table going through the clutter that was Tobias Hankle's house. 

"Welcome to our nightmare." JJ greeted looking exhausted. 

"His computer is an extension of his brain- I need you to dissect it." Gideon said. The woman nodded, still slightly overwhelmed by her new surroundings. 

"I'll get you set up, come on." Derek said, leading the way. 

"So nothing new since I left?" Hotch asked. 

"Well, the good thing is, the documented practically every second of his life." Emily said, holding up one of the many notebooks that covered the table. "The bad news is, we're still unpiling."

"From the looks of it, he hasn't left this place in years." JJ commented. 

"Sheriff's office, 911 calls. Every time this guy engages with the police he gets away with it." Gideon said. "He reassures himself. God's on his side. Not ours."

Emily and Gideon were upstairs in one of the bedrooms going through its contents. "Hey, I've got a list of narcotics anonymous meetings. Someone's name and number is written on it. But this looks to be about twelve years old." She said.

"Try it." Gideon said staring at the wall. "There are no bad leads." He reached out and tugged on a corner that was lifting up. The whole panel gave way revealing repetitive scrawl written all over the wall. 

Emily came up behind him, "Is that Latin?"

"Honora patrum tuum." He read. 

"Honour thy father." They both turned around to see Olivia leaning against the door frame. Her demeanor was heavy and dark as she stared at the wall. 

Olivia couldn't listen to any more of this. They were going around and around in circles without any new information for hours. She felt like she was starting to suffocate in this old house. She turned around on her heel and walked down the stairs and out the front door. Once it shut behind her she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the night air. 

When she opened her eyes again, everything was exactly the same. They were still here. Spencer wasn't. With a sigh she sat on the bottom step of the porch and hung her head, letting gravity pull on the stiff muscles in her shoulders. 

"You alright?" JJ asked from the doorway. She stepped outside and sat beside her. "I'm pretty sure I should be asking you that." Olivia smiled and leaned against her friend. 

"Ugh please. Like I need another person checking in on me every thirty seconds. We have more important things to worry about."

Olivia nodded, staring out into the darkness. "I needed to clear my head." She said quietly. "It just feels like we're chasing a ghost without a break or a clue. And It's not like I'm going to sleep so... This is the closest thing I'm getting to a fresh head." She sighed. 

"We're all worried about him." JJ comforted, "It's hard to see past that. Especially when I'm the one who was supposed to have his back."

"He's never going to blame you, JJ." Olivia said. "When we find him, that's going to be the last thing on his mind."

The woman chuckled. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure his mind is going to be occupied anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"He cares about you too, you know. I've seen the way he looks at you."

"Oh, JJ that's-"

"I'm serious. You can try and deflect all you want but... yes, he's shy and awkward and he gets flustered around everyone basically. But for you he actively puts himself out there." She smiled, "I've never seen that from him before." 

Olivia let out a chuckle and stared down at her boots. 

"I'm not going to say anything." JJ said softly. "Just thought I'd... point it out." 

"Guys! Guys! Get in here!" Derek shouted from inside the house. The two women quickly rose to their feet and rushed back inside. They followed the group to the computer room where Penelope and Derek were working 

There were monitors all over the room. And they were all broadcasting one thing. Spencer. 

"Oh my god." Olivia murmured.

"He's been beaten, can't you track him?" Emily asked as they all stared helplessly at the screens.

"Hankle's only streaming this to his home computer." Penelope said. 

"This is for us. He knows we're here." 

"I'm gonna put this guy's head on a stick." Derek sighed as Hotch cut in, "Why can't you locate him?"

"It's rerouting to a new IP address every thirty seconds, I can't track him."

Silently JJ reached over and clasped Olivia's hand in her own. They watched as Hankle commanded Reid to choose someone to die, so he could save another. 

"I won't chose who gets slaughtered and have you leave their remains behind like a poacher." Reid spat. The man lunged forward and lifted Spencer up off the seat. "Can you really see into my mind, boy? Can you see I'm not a liar? Choose one to die and save a life. Otherwise, they're all dead."

"Alright." He said as he was shoved back down. "I'll chose who lives. Far right screen."

They listened as Hankle gave out the name and address of the woman on the screen. Garcia leapt into action, pulling up her number for Gideon as he dialed it into his cell phone.

"Marilyn David, my name is Jason Gideon. I'm with the FBI..." Immediately the camera feed from her kitchen went dark, and then a moment later, so did the feed of Spencer. 

"No." Olivia whispered as they all stared at the blank screens. Derek threw his weight into a door frame as he left the room in a huff.


	26. The Big Game/ Revelations pt.5

"We can trace their whole family history." Derek said looking through the pictures. "Here we have smiling happy Tobias. Report cards all A's and B's, but at eight years old we've got nothing."

"That's his mother leaving." Olivia said. "Six months later, on the other side of the board, we have a form from child services saying they paid a visit."

"Then Charles starts keeping journals about punishing sinners and needing to remove the devil from his son."

"Which corresponds with his drug use." Emily added. "He's trying to escape."

"So wherever Reid is, It was Tobias' choice, not his father's. "

"How do you figure?" Olivia asked.

"Look at these two lives. They're like inverse graphs, one's getting weaker while the other one's getting angrier. Tobias would run away, his father would have stood and fought."

"Okay, so Tobias uses drugs as an escape. I'll go back through the journals and see if I can find anything connecting his drug use to a hiding place." Emily said. 

"Where's Gideon?" JJ asked entering the room.

"He's upstairs why, what's up?"

"Hankle just posted the latest murder." She said and Olivia sighed, taking a seat in one of the hard chairs and leaning her weight onto her thighs. 

"He's back on!" Garcia shouted from the other room. The team rushed back in to his Spencer back in the chair, in pain.

"Confess your sins." Hankle commanded before punching him across the face, hard. "Confess!"

"I haven't done anything." Reid pleaded. 

Another blow made Olivia inhale sharply. 

"Tobais, help me!" He cried out.

"He can't help you. He's weak. Confess!" 

Another hit. The blood was dripping down his face now. Olivia looked away, trying to prevent any tears from falling. 

"Confess your sins." Hankle hissed. "No?" He pushed the chair back, forcing Spencer to the ground. Suddenly his breathing was laboured and he was gasping for air.

"Oh my god, he's killing him." Garcia murmured as they watched Spencer thrash on the floor until he suddenly stopped moving.

Olivia clamped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop the bile that was threatening its way up. Her instinct got the better of her and she backed away from the room.

Pushing the front door open she moved as fast as her legs could take her away from the house. She made it twenty feet before crashing onto her hands and knees into the grass. Her fingers grasped the blades tightly, fighting to ground herself. To force herself to breathe again. 

All this for a man you didn't know 2 months ago. She chastised herself. Olivia scrunched her eyes closed tight and tried her best to fight her body's natural response. Breathe! She shouted in her head- just breathe so you can focus!

Eventually JJ came outside, placing a hand on her back. "He's alive." She whispered. "Olivia- he's alive. He's okay." 

Olivia looked up at her with wide eyes. "He's alive?" She asked in disbelief. "But-"

"Yes. Come inside. We need you. We need you to help us bring him home, they can't see you like this." 

JJ reached for her hand and helped pull her up off the ground. Just as the rest of the team came running outside. "We know where he is!" Derek shouted.

Olivia turned to the woman next to her. "JJ..."

"Your secret's safe." she promised, both of them hurrying towards the vehicle.

They arrived at the location, Olivia falling to the back of the group. She knew logically that she needed to pull herself together quickly. They cleared the cabin, it was empty. 

They started out on the cemetery grounds, clearing foot by foot in the dark when they heard a gun go off ahead of them.

"Move in" Derek shouted, leading the charge. "He's there!" Hotch shouted, seeing the figured up ahead. 

Olivia's heart nearly burst straight out of her chest seeing Spencer's face, bruised and bloodied as it was. Hotch crouched down in the leaves next to him. "Reid?" He asked, helping the younger man up. 

"I knew you'd understand." He said, shakily wrapping his arms around Aaron. They pulled apart and he saw JJ, her face a mixture of worry, relief and guilt. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, hugging him. 

"It's alright. It wasn't your fault." Spencer whispered back. "Let's get you out of here." Gideon said, reaching out to help him. "Please... Ca-can I have a second alone?" He asked. Gideon nodded, giving him some space. 

After a few moments he stood back up and Olivia met him halfway. "You keep ending up places without your coat." She teased gently, offering him a black FBI parka. She was afraid to touch him, as if he may fade away and disappear. He surprised her by securing his arms around her instead. "That's what I have you for, right?" He mumbled into her hair. 

She smiled, tears once again threatening to spill over. "Yeah. Yeah- you've got me." She promised, holding on tight to him in the darkness.


	27. Fear and Loathing

The alarm on her nightstand rang bright and early in the morning. Rolling over immediately, she smacked the button to silence the deafening noise. With a sigh she sat up and propped herself on the edge of her bed. As random as their schedule was, she had to admit, she was not used to waking up this early. 

But for the past few weeks she had done it without complaint, and today was no different. Because today was Spencer's first day back at work after getting his medical clearance, and she had a mission to complete. 

She had stayed with him for the few hours he was admitted to the hospital, just relieved that he was okay. A few cracked ribs and bruises but he was alright. She had dropped him off at his apartment after and offered if he needed anything but he had decided to keep mostly to himself during his recovery. 

He sent her the occasional text and she called when she could, but frankly she missed him. The whole team did. They were excited to have him back again. When Hotch announced that he had been cleared for duty again JJ sent her a knowing smile that Olivia had tried desperately to avoid. It wasn't a big thing. She just had a moment of weakness when one of her team members had literally died in front of her. I don't think anyone could blame her, they were all having their moments that week. Olivia had just made the mistake of getting caught during hers. It's not like she had ever been in that situation before. 

She showered, dressed and gathered her things quickly before heading out the door, pulling into the drive through of Spencer's preferred coffee shop. Accepting her orders, she left a tip and continued on her way to his apartment. 

She arrived at exactly the time she had declared for pick-up and caught him right as he exited the building. "Good morning." He said as he climbed into the passenger seat. 

"Good morning, yourself. You look good." She smiled, handing him his coffee. 

"Thanks. I feel good. You know you didn't have to drive me." He said as she pulled away from the curb and headed towards headquarters. 

"Oh, this is just for today, don't get used to it." She teased. "I just had to make sure you didn't go injuring yourself or anything on your first day back. I'm pretty sure JJ would kill me if you did."

When they arrived in the bullpen they passed Emily and Derek in the kitchen. "Well, look whose back!" Derek said, catching their entrance. He hesitated in giving Reid a hug, not wanting to injure his ribs. 

"Don't worry, I'm all healed up." He assured him, nevertheless Derek tapped their mugs together instead. 

"Well in that case..." Emily said, leaning in to give him a smooch on the cheek. 

Spencer chuckled and moved towards the counter, "What were you guys talking about?" He asked rummaging around in the cupboard. 

"Emily's awkward date." Derek smirked as she blushed. 

"Oh is this that guy..." Olivia asked waving her hand in the air. 

"Yup."

"So what did you say?" Derek asked

"It was just... I went off a nerd moment and he didn't say anything and then I lost all confidence..."

"What did you say?" Derek repeated. 

"Kilgore trout."

"Guy has a problem with Kurt Vonnegut?" Derek asked.

"That's what I said!" Olivia laughed.

"You know Kilgore trout?!" Emily exclaimed. While they went off on their conversation, Olivia moseyed her way over to Spencer. 

"Did I get the order wrong?" She asked looking pointedly at his cup. 

"No, no- you didn't." He assured her with a blush. "I was just looking for... Ah." He said triumphantly, pulling out a small yellow package from the depths of the compartment. 

"Peanut M&Ms." Olivia gasped.

"Shhh. Keep your voice down." Spencer hushed. "I've been hiding these here because Derek always goes searching through my desk for snacks." He said glancing over her shoulder at the man. 

Olivia chuckled, "Your secret's safe with me, doctor." 

"Conference room in five minutes, please." A deep voice said. Olivia turned around and nodded at Hotch who stood next to Derek and Emily before continuing on. 

"Here." Reid said, tearing the package open and slipping a few M&Ms into her palm before popping the rest into his mouth, happily crunching away.

"Hey, pretty boy, whatcha got there?" 

"Nothing." Spencer mumbled with his mouth full, quickly disposing of the wrapping in the garbage before heading towards the roundtable room.


	28. Fear and Loathing pt.2

"Sandra Davis," JJ began as a clip of the young woman singing played on the screen. "sixteen years old, this is her singing at her high school talent show. This is her off-again/ on-again boyfriend Ken Newcombe." She said changing the image.

"Their bodies were found in a park near the male victim's car in Groton, an affluent, mostly white suburb of New York City, in Westchester County. It's the third of three killings believed to be a series of hate crimes. The first two victims were Keisha Andrews, fifteen, and Vicky Williams, seventeen. They disappeared from their homes in central Westchester one night, their bodies were found in a wooded area in a southern part of the county, near the city."

"Strangled. Beaten. Stabbed." Gideon noted.

JJ pointed at the screen again. "And this was painted on their faces." The image showed a swastika drawn across their features. 

"Wow." Olivia murmured, not noticing how Reid was fidgeting beside her. 

"What about this couple?" Derek asked, "How were their bodies found?" 

"Another swastika. This one on the boyfriend's car."

"It's a different victimology." Emily pointed out. 

"Maybe just an escalation." Derek countered. 

"Or a different killer."

"And it doesn't end there." Hotch continued. "Yesterday an African-American community leader, a reverend Williams decided to take this on as a political issue. Racial hate in the suburbs."

"Apparently in response to this, a Black kid was beaten on the streets of Groton this afternoon. Connecticut neo-Nazi groups called the White Stallions claimed responsibility."

"There are neo-Nazi groups in Connecticut?" Emily asked. 

"There are all kinds..." Olivia said clearly unimpressed. 

"The mayor of Groton called me this morning, frantic. He's desperate to solve these crimes before it escalated even more."

"What are the racial demographics of Groton?" Gideon asked, but Olivia's mind was elsewhere now. She started to notice it. Spencer was trying hard not to look at any of the crime scene photos, and every time that he did, he would twitch and fidget in discomfort. 

Soon the rest of the team were standing and gathering their things. Spencer flipped his case file shut in a fast second and made to get up and follow them out, but Olivia put her hand over his to stop him. "Hey." She whispered after the last person had left the room. "Take a second." 

"I can't- we're leaving, you heard him." Reid objected, embarrassed.

"I also know that your bags are already packed. So just take 30 seconds." She smiled gently. 

"We need to go." He said, standing and grabbing his bag before walking out the room.

"Worth a shot." She said to herself shaking her head before she did the same. 

The plane was up in the clouds flying high above the New York skyline when the team began discussing the case again. 

"New York, New York." JJ said as she glanced out the window. Spencer's demeanor had changed too, he was back to his comfortable normal self, eyes following the large glittering city with a childlike wonder. 

"Yeah, too bad we're flying right past it, straight into the suburbs." Derek commented. 

"Uh, guys, this is weird." Olivia said, flipping through the pages. "There are traces of GHB found in the first two victims but no sign of sexual assault so... Why would the unsub use a date-rape drug to commit a hate crime?" 

"I was wondering about that too." Emily agreed. "It doesn't make any sense. 

"Maybe he want's to weaken them so they can't fight back." Reid suggested, all business once again. 

"But there was no GHB in the victims of the double homicide." Emily pointed out. 

"There's a lot that's different about the double homicide." Derek agreed. 

JJ pulled a fax from the printer. "Alright, we just got new information. A few weeks before the murder of Sandra Davis and Ken Newcombe, a threatening letter was delivered to Sandra's door. She showed it to her parents, they took it to the police, but they never found out who wrote it." She said, handing it to Reid. 

"'We see Ken with you and it makes us sick. Take care to stop this or you will pay. If you tell anyone about this you will pay.' Strange, it doesn't seem real." He commented, reading it aloud. 

"What do you mean?" JJ asked.

"First of all the use of 'we' in a threat this direct is almost always bogus. One individual trying to diffuse responsibility. Also, the message itself seems contradictory. On the one hand, 'take care to stop this now or you will pay', presumably they wanted them to stop seeing each other, but then on the other hand they don't want them to go public with it. 'If you tell anyone about this, you will pay'." 

"The point of hate crimes is to increase publicity." Hotch explained, "Not decrease it. It's like terrorism."

"An effective threat lets everybody know that they're in danger if they do this behaviour. The author would want Sandra to tell people about the note."

"It doesn't sound like a guy primed to kill." JJ concluded.

"Actually, it... It doesn't sound like a guy at all. 'Take care to stop this.' Implies empathy. 'Take care'? Males don't use this type of language, especially when they're trying to threaten somebody. This message is certainly written by a female and based on the lack of psychological sophistication, I'd say it's most likely an adolescent."

"You think a girl killed these kids?" JJ asked incredulously.

"I think a girl wrote this note."

"Let's call that mystery number one." Gideon said.

"You got a number two?" Hotch asked. 

"Maybe. Says here the autopsy on Sandra Davis was inconclusive."

"She suffered blunt force trauma to the face, she had some bruising around her neck. Cause of death is still unclear, the coroner's working on it." 

"A lot of questions." Hotch sighed, "Let's get started on some answers."

The rest of the team headed straight for the police station and the crime scenes while Olivia and Reid went to the morgue for the updated autopsy report. They were greeted by the medical examiner who was finishing up and promised to see them in a few minutes. 

As they sat outside waiting Olivia could see him begin to fidget again. "Spencer?" She asked, trying to get his attention. 

"What?"

"You tell me." She said gently. "You've been up and down all day." 

"I'm fine." He said, tucking his hair behind his ear for the tenth time since they arrived. 

"If you're uncomfortable you can wait outside. I can get the report."

"I said I'm fine, why wouldn't I be fine?" 

"Because you were kidnapped and tortured a few weeks ago?" Olivia answered bluntly. "It's not like anyone is going to think less of you. I'm not going to say anything-"

"There's nothing to say." He murmured and stood as the M.E. returned with their file. "Thank you." He said quickly taking the sheets from the man's hand and walking quickly down the hallway. 

"Thank you very much." Olivia covered up. 

"If you need anything else..." 

"We'll be in touch. Thank you again." She said apologetically as she hurried after the doctor. 

The rest of the ride was silent. Olivia drove, and concentrated on the road, wanting to give him some space as he read through the analysis. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach about him but she chalked it up to post-traumatic irritation and ignored it the best she could for now. They still had a job to do.

When they arrived Spencer immediately detached himself from her. It was such a subtle and quiet thing that she didn't even realized she was alone until she arrived in the conference room. 

"Do you have it?" Hotch asked. 

"Yeah Reid-" Olivia said glancing behind her at... nothing. "Wha- he was just here." She said, earning a confused glance from Emily and Derek.

"He has the report?" 

"Yes."

"Anybody seen Reid?" Hotch asked loudly. "Reid?"

A moment later the man came barreling around the corner. "I've got the coroner's report." He said, handing over the file before sitting down.

Hotch began reading, "Victim had been beaten so extensively, the cause of death was indeterminate. Post-mortem stab wounds were also discovered."

"This is a fairly extreme overkill." Reid began, snapping back into work mode. "which is markedly different from the other two girls."

"So you're saying this was a different killer?" Detective Ware asked. 

"No, we're saying if it was the same killer, the overkill indicates he didn't get what he wanted from someone."

"What he wanted?"

"Sexual offenders kill for sexual release." Derek explained. "And in this case there's no sign of sexual assault on his victims. That tells us that he probably fetishizes. Takes some souvenir from his victims that he uses to get off." Again, Olivia was distracted, not by Reid's actions this time, but Gideon's. He stood there, leaning against the wall, his eyes never leaving the young man. Analyzing him. Studying his actions. 

Suddenly his eyes averted their gaze and landed on hers. Olivia and Jason stared at each other for a long moment. Both recognizing that something was off.


	29. Fear and Loathing pt.3

That night Olivia was sharing a room with Emily and JJ. The hotel was short on space and none of them had minded before. 

"I don't know there's just something about the GHB that throws everything off for me." Emily commented. She was laying flat on her back on the bed, her fuzzy socked feet crossed at the ankles. 

"You know what? Can we just turn off the profiling for a few hours?" Olivia asked, as she undressed out of her office wear and into her hoodie and sweatpants. "I know we're still trying to figure it all out, but I need to shut off my brain for a while."

"Yeah sure." Emily said, pushing herself to her elbows. "How about we talk about what the hell is going on with Reid? He's been acting spacy all day." 

Olivia turned her head away, pretending to adjust the charging cord for her phone. Yeah cause this is definitely a topic I'd rather deal with right now. She thought to herself. I almost prefer the serial killer. 

JJ looked hesitantly at her, "He's probably just a little messed up still. You can hardly blame him." She said casually. 

"That's true." Emily agreed. "I certainly would be. I don't know though. It still feels... different."

"Give him time." JJ assured her. "He'll snap out of it."

"I'm sure JJ's right." Olivia said getting to her feet. "I'm uh... I'm gonna take a shower." She said, avoiding anything further on the topic by grabbing her cosmetic bag and making a beeline towards the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned against the countertop, staring at her reflection in the mirror. 

She looked tired. She felt it too, but she was used to working through that and ignoring it. Right now, between Spencer's behaviour and this killer destroying the lives of these young women, she was feeling it a lot. Olivia turned away from her reflection, pulling her hair out of the ponytail and stripping down to stand under the stream of hot water. 

She let out a long sigh, letting the pressure of the water work out the tight muscles of her shoulders. This was going to be a long night. 

***

The next morning the team sat around the police bullpen ready to deliver the profile. 

"Suspect is a Black male, statistically between the ages of 20 and 35. We know he's Black because of his victims. Sexually motivated killers almost always kill within their own race." Hotch began. 

"The victims he's chosen are good girls." Derek continued. "They're good students. No behavioural problems. They're what we like to call 'low risk'."

"And the lower the risk of the victim, the higher the intelligence of the unsub."

"Guy's a smooth talker." Jason added, "Makes people feel at ease. Gains their confidence. You'd be amazed what these guys can talk people into."

Reid interjected, "Jeffrey Dahmer was once pulled over by police officers for driving over the center line. He had a garbage bag full of body parts in the back seat of his car. But he was so calm, and so self-assured, that he convinced the officers not to look in the bag. He then went on to kill at least 15 more people." 

Olivia spoke up, "This guy's a hustler. He may not have a lot of education, but he knows how to treat impressionable young girls. Victor Paleologus used to troll shopping malls pretending to be a movie producer. He told Kristine Johnson he could get her an audition for a James Bond movie. And that was the last time she was ever seen alive."

"We think because all these girls are singers, that the unsub may be connected in some way to the recording industry. " Hotch added. "We know the unsub has a vehicle, big enough to transport a body. It's clean. It's not too old, nice enough to make a girl feel comfortable inside, but it's not flashy. This is not a guy that want's to attract attention to himself."

"Probably a large, dark sedan." Derek added.

JJ spoke up, "We recommend putting this profile on the news, the paper, anywhere it might be seen by the people in this county. "

"This guy's ruse doesn't work on everyone." Derek finished. "Somewhere out there is at least one woman who didn't fall for his game and, That's who we need to find."

"The key to this unsub's psychology is the souvenir he takes." Hotch said as JJ's cell rang. "We don't know what it is yet, but we do know that once he has it- his victim then becomes disposable, and that's when he kills her. We recommend surveillance locations where the unsub might approach young girls, churches, high schools, libraries, coffee shops. Stick with the community. The people of this county should be able to offer some good leads. Thank you."

The group stood and Spencer walked over to Olivia. "How did you know that stuff about Paleologus?" he asked quietly. 

She looked up at him confused, "You told me." She said, trying to read his expression. "Oh." He replied, his focus seemingly elsewhere. "Right."

"What's he doing?" Gideon's voice said as he and Hotch made their way up to a group of officers that were being barricaded by the Mayor. "Please, just sit tight one more minute." They could hear him saying. Emily, Olivia and Reid stayed behind and watched as the argument ensued.

Suddenly JJ came back up to them. "The found Naomi Dade's body and we've got a mass of reporters out there." She said gesturing to the windows full of people.

What's it going to be, detective?" Derek asked.


	30. Fear and Loathing pt.4

The group stood by and watched as the lead detective spoke to the press, giving them the entire profile as recommended, before joining them again. 

"Detective, I think you made the right choice." Aaron said confidently. 

"I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass." The man sighed. 

"Why would it?" Emily asked.

"The last thing I need is to spread fear that a dangerous Black man is running around this county."

"The best way to solve your problem is to stay focussed." Hotch encouraged. 

"Tell me." He said, arms open wide. "Tell me what to do."

Gideon turned to Emily, "Talk to the kids at the high schools. Set up a tip line." He added to JJ. 

Derek got to his feet, "Well I hate waiting around. So, what do you say, Ware? Want to join the patrols? Get back on the street, pretend to be a beat cop again?" 

The man nodded. "Yeah. Beats waiting around here for more bodies, don't it?"

Derek nodded, smiling. "Let's do it."

Spencer and Olivia joined Gideon in the conference room to continue to go over the case information again when JJ re-entered. 

"Tips have just started flooding in." She began, "So far we have fingers pointed at a local minister, a janitor at a school, and oh- reverend Jesse Jackson"

"Anything useful?" Jason asked. 

"Not so much."

"Hey." They were interrupted by an officer, "I got a tip about a Black guy they didn't recognize driving around in a black Lincoln in front of our last victim's house yesterday."

"That's the second sighting for that vehicle." JJ confirmed. 

"Fits the profile- large, dark sedan." Reid said. 

"Include it in the press release. Let Morgan know." Gideon nodded. 

Olivia nodded, "On it." She said, pulling out her cell. A moment later she was relaying the message to her teammate and back once again to flipping through the case notes. After 10 minutes of silence every cell phone in the room went off at once. 

"What the hell?" Jason said, reaching for his. "Garcia?" They watched his facial expression change and looked on worriedly. "What is it?" Olivia asked as he snapped the device shut. 

"Detective Ware was just shot and killed." He said with a sigh. 

"What about Morgan?" Reid asked quickly. 

"He's okay. Hotch is on his way there."

JJ came back into the room not a moment later. "Another girl just went missing. Hotch is going to bring Derek back with him."

"Damnit." Olivia mumbled harshly as she stood up from her chair and began pacing the space behind her. 

"Her name is Ally Hadley. She told her mom she was sleeping over at a friend's house. But she never showed up there."

Well, are we sure she isn't just out with some other friends, or a guy?" Gideon asked. 

"She says she never does this, she's a -"

"Good girl." The man finished. 

"Yeah. She's African-American, fifteen years old, loves to sing."

Reid accepted a piece of paper from another officer and turned to the group. "Guys, we got a witness. A girl who saw the report on the news. She said a guy came up to her about a month ago, claiming to work for a record company. She's on the way in." 

"I'll call the others." JJ said, reaching for her phone. 

The rest of the team waited outside as Derek and Gideon interviewed the girl. The look on Morgan's face told them all to stand their ground and not ask questions, and none of them did. It didn't take long. Within twenty minutes they exited the room with a slip of paper that Gideon handed to JJ. 

"We got a name." 

"And Garcia got the address. Let's go."

***

Later on the plane everyone seemed to be coping in their best ways. JJ was curled up on the couch with a blanket, Derek and Reid were playing a game of cards and Gideon was asleep across from Hotch who was- as always, going through paperwork. Olivia watched from her own seat as Emily walked through the cabin 'accidentally' dropping her book in front of Morgan along the way.

"Oops. Sorry." She smiled as he checked out the cover. "Oh wait a minute." He chuckled reaching for the novel. 

"No you didn't. Where did you find this?" He asked. Smiling at his favourite book, Mother Night. 

"In the airport- can you believe it? I haven't read this in fift- like twelve years." She corrected, smiling. 

"Okay, that's funny." Derek smiled, "Chapter three's where it starts to get good."

"Okay, I will let you know when I get there." She smiled before moving on. 

"Alright you do that."

Olivia tried to get back to her own book, but couldn't keep herself distracted. She watched over the top of the cover as Morgan surveyed Reid curiously. 

"You alright?" The man asked quietly. "Reid." He asked again when the doctor appeared not to hear him. 

"Hmm?"

"I said, are you alright?" He repeated. 

"I'm fine." He replied irritated before looking around and adding, "Thanks for broadcasting it." he scoffed. 

"Hey, talk to me." Derek said, concerned. "Whatever you say to me in confidence is between us. You know that, right?"

Spencer just shrugged, looking through his cards. "I don't have anything to tell you."

"Reid, listen to me." Derek began leaning forward and lowering his voice. "What you went through out there- nobody expects you to rebound-"

"I can still do my job, alright- I'm not going to freak out." Spencer hissed. 

"You think I don't know that?" Derek asked. 

Spencer finally looked up at him. His expression changing, growing softer. He set down his cards. "It's the crime scene photos." He said quietly. 

"Crime scene photos?"

"The dead girls in the leaves."

"Reid, we've seen worse."

"I know. I know we've seen worse but... For the first time, I know. I look at them and... I look at them and I- I know what they were thinking, and I know what they were feeling, like right before."

Derek nodded, understanding. "That's called empathy. And it's a good thing."

The doctor shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. "It's not. It's got me all messed up. I don't know how to focus- I can't do my job as well. So what do I do?"

"You use it. Let it make you a better profiler. A better person." 

Spencer chuckled and nodded. Finally feeling calm for the first time. "A better person." He nodded.

Olivia smiled bringing her eyes back down to the pages in front of her. He was going to be okay.


	31. Distress

"This is Houston's Fifth Ward. It accounts for a large percentage of the City's growing homicide rate, due to gang violence." Olivia kept her eyes glued to the screen as she tried to digest what JJ was saying as she gestured to the images in front of them. No mater how hard she tried she was distracted. Spencer hadn't shown up for work and she couldn't help but feel worried, and neither could Emily who she felt beside her glancing ever so often at the empty doorway. 

"Although in the last 48 hours there have been three distinctive murders in the ward."

"Distinctive?" Derek asked. 

"Three men, three different socioeconomic groups, all killed on the street with their necks snapped, there appears to be no other injury, and there's no apparent connection between the victims. Or motive."

The room went quiet as footsteps approached. They all turned to see Spencer casually stroll into the room, his things under one arm, coffee cup in the other. His hair was well past its usual mess and his eyes were dark. 

He sat down in his usual seat beside Olivia without a word and JJ picked up right away, "The ward's detectives are inundated with homicides. Gang violence is a big problem. Shootings, armed robberies, it's an everyday occurrence- but this type of street attack, is new to them. "

"Could it be gang related? Maybe a new type of initiation rite?"

"The gangs in the ward use guns." JJ said, "In fact, no known gangs exhibit this type of M.O.."

"What about dope?" Derek asked, "these guys come up with pretty freaky ways of killing the competition to get their message out."

"Yeah, but there just doesn't seem to be any connection between the victim and the drug world."

"Homeless man, a construction worker, security guard." Gideon mumbled. 

"Just three dead men and no witnesses." JJ confirmed.

"We're looking for a homicidal serial criminal in a neighborhood populated by criminals. The challenge will be separating him from the rest."

Reid finally spoke up, "We have no evidence, no apparent interaction between the unsub and the victims pre or post mortem, and an indistinguishable M.O. Should be simple." He said sarcastically. No one in the room knew how to read him, they all just grabbed their things and headed out the door, Olivia included.

***

Later on the jet, the team all sat facing each other from their own seats spread out. 

"We have three victims that have nothing in common, so whose he targeting?" Derek asked as he made his way back to his seat. 

"Let's see if any of the victims frequented the same stores or sites. " Hotch suggested. 

"He used blitz attacks, which means he most likely lacks interpersonal skills. He needed to coerce his victims into coming close. And he also used the element of surprise, which means he may have stalked his victims prior to killing them. " Spencer said. 

"Well if that's the case I want to go to the last crime scene and see were he might have been hiding." Derek said. 

"I want to see the neighborhood for myself- I'll go with you." Gideon nodded. 

"Good. The rest of us will go to the precinct and set up shop." Hotch agreed. 

"I'll map out the area and see if I can find any places the victims would have visited in the neighborhood." Reid stated. 

"Good, maybe we can find a connection between them. I'll help you with that." Emily said, making a note on her page. 

"I can handle it." Spencer objected. 

Emily looked taken aback. "I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't."

"Isn't that what 'I'll help you with it' means?" He shot back stubbornly. 

Everyone's heads raised at the exchange before Hotch intervened. "Reid. Prentiss will help you with the geographical profiling and victimology."

"Fine." 

Derek and Olivia locked eyes with a similar expression of worry.

Arriving at the station, the remaining members of the team assembled in a conference room to set up when JJ walked in. 

"What's that?" Hotch asked gesturing to the plate in her hand.

"One of the detective's wives made us cookies." She smiled, offering him one. 

"Wow, homemade cookies?" Emily asked. "That was sweet of them."

"I guess that's what they call 'southern hospitality'." JJ smiled, adding a hint of twang to her voice. 

"What are you saying?" Spencer asked, irritated. 

"Southern hospitality." Olivia clarified, taking a seat at the table.

"I need to concentrate-" Spencer said as he roughly slammed the window shut. The noise from outside quietened immediately. "How can anybody hear with all this work going on?" He spat. 

"Well you're gonna have to get used to it. Construction crews are working around the clock." JJ said. 

"City's trying to return to it's 'splendor', " Olivia said throwing up the air quotes. "That means that Houston's poorest are being kicked out of their homes. It's sad."

"Unsub might be homeless." Gideon announced as he and Morgan arrived with the detective. "Appears to have been living in a building next to where the security guard was attacked."

"That could be a motive." Emily pointed out. "Construction worker, security guard at a construction site. Payback?" 

"What about the homeless man?" Derek asked. 

"We get a lot of beefs out there among the homeless. That could have just been a fight about space or food." The detective added. 

"We should get a list of residents that have been kicked out of there homes by the gentrification." Olivia suggested. 

"You and Reid check the shelters." Gideon agreed. 

"You okay with that, Reid?" Emily said sarcastically. Olivia shot her a look from behind the man's back. 

"I'm fine with that." He answered, heading out the door immediately with Olivia following.


	32. Distress pt.2

The entire drive to the homeless shelter went by in silence. They waited inside to speak to someone when Olivia tried, 

"Sorry about Emily earlier." She said quietly trying to start the conversation. "She didn't need to-"

"I don't really care." Spencer said cutting her off. 

Olivia nodded her head slowly, "Right."

The next moment a young woman in an apron approached them. "Ya'll are looking for someone in charge, I'm Angie, one of the administrators."

"Hi, I'm Agent Kallis, this is Dr. Reid. We're with the FBI." Olivia said shaking her hand. 

"Really?"

"Really." Spencer echoed sarcastically. 

"Looks like you have your hands full." Olivia said showing her badge. 

The woman sighed, "Demolitions of the projects and the abandoned buildings, there's no place else for people to sleep." She explained. 

"Well, thank god there are people like you who take the time-"

"Do you have a list of everyone who comes through here?" Spencer interrupted. 

"Uh, we have a sign-in sheet. But we don't force anyone to sign if they don't want to. Some who do don't even use their real name. Elvis eats here a lot." She smiled. 

"We would appreciate any lists you have." Olivia said. 

"Why?" The woman asked. 

"Have you noticed anyone who acts unusually aggressive towards the other residents?" Spencer asked, ignoring her question. 

The woman was looking exceedingly confused. "What is this about?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her. 

"A series of murders in the area." Reid explained. "The perpetrator may be a homeless man. Maybe someone who stays here...may even be in this room as we speak." He said looking around.

"Reid." Olivia tried cutting him off.

"Have you noticed anyone who acts paranoid or displays explosive, unprovoked bursts of violence, more than just pushing or shoving? Someone who really tries to harm others?"

"There are territorial fights over food and places to sleep. The nurse treats people for minor injuries all the time, but no one's seriously hurt." She explained, clearly uncomfortable. 

"If anyone does come to mind, give us a call." Reid said handing her a card before turning abruptly and leaving the room. 

The woman looked down at the card and then back at Olivia. "A murderer?" She asked incredulously. 

"I'm sorry. Uh-um... This investigation is still- no one's actually been hurt in a shelter." Olivia tried assuring her. "We're just- we're acting with an abundance of caution. So please, let the police know if anything unusual occurs. Thank you. " She said, heading for the door. 

She found Spencer outside, observing the people around the building. "There's a high presence of mental disorders with the homeless." He commented as she reached him. 

"Yeah." She said bluntly. "What the hell was that in there?"

"What?" He asked. 

"'He may even be in this room as we speak.'? We have nothing to support that."

"We're investigating a serial homicide, should I have pretended there's no danger?" He asked defensively. 

"We just left that woman potentially afraid of every man who walks into this shelter." Olivia pointed out, brushing her hair out of her face as he crossed his arms in front of him. 

"Again, until we find this unsub, how is that a bad thing?"

She shook her head, searing in his eyes for an answer. "What is the matter with you?" She asked. 

"What do you mean, what's the matter with me?" He asked, irritated.

"I've never seen you act like this." She said softly. 

"Oh really? Oh, in the months that you've known me, you've never seen me act this way? Hey no offence, Olivia, but... You don't really know what you're talking about do you?" 

Her hurt expression followed him as he tried brushing past her. She followed, and as soon as they were out of earshot of other people she pulled him aside. 

"Stop." She said coldly, drawing his attention back down to her. 

"Look, you want to be an jerk, that's fine. You want to hide whatever it is that's bothering you, that's fine too. But you don't get to gaslight me. You don't treat me like that. Ever. No one treats me like that. Not anymore." She told him harshly in a tone she rarely used on anyone that wasn't a criminal. 

"I know what this is, Spencer. Because I know what it looks like, and I know what it feels like to be on the other side. If you honestly expect me to stand in front of you and say I don't see it. I'll tell you right now- I won't."

He opened his mouth to interrupt her but she held up a hand to stop him. "No. I see that your pupils are dilated out here in the middle of the day, I see your mood swings, I see that you fade in and out of conversations. All the things you think you're hiding so well. I see all of it. And I'm not the only one. So either ask for some help, or figure it out yourself, I don't care. But this has to stop. I can't watch someone else I care about do this to themselves." She said quietly, her voice faltering. 

She turned her head and wiped at the tear that managed to spill onto her cheek. "Get in the car." She said, heading to the driver's side door and effectively ending the conversation. 

When they arrived back at the station, Olivia slammed the door shut behind her and walked inside without checking to see if Spencer was following. 

"We checked the local shelter." She said as Hotch approached them. "The administrator hasn't noticed anyone new displaying aggressive behaviour." 

"He's not at a shelter- I just talked to Gideon and Morgan, they think that he's killing to protect some makeshift shelter of his own." 

"Are we ready for a profile yet?" She asked.

"We're missing something. How did this man learn to kill so efficiently?"

"You know what we need?" Olivia asked,

"We need to get lucky." Hotch finished. "We need him to make a mistake."

***

"He asked if she was okay and why was she crying. He wasn't aware of what he was doing to her." Hotch explained to the other about the little girl. 

"Poor girl." Olivia said quietly 

"Garcia's on line one." JJ said, entering the room. "Go ahead, Penelope." She said, pressing a button. 

"Hola, Cowgirls and boys. I've got the comparison satellite images of the before and after pictures and I found something. You see it yet?"

"Yeah." Hotch answered, looking at the images. 

"An SOS." Emily observed. 

"Yeah, it's made of debris and other bits of gooblygook. This is the building where the security guard was killed."

"He's asking for help."

"Guys listen outside." Reid said quietly. They all listened to the booming of the construction machines. 

"Chaos. The SOS." Hotch noted. 

"He's a vet." Olivia realized. 

"He thinks he's in a war zone." Hotch confirmed. 

"He must have lived or worked in an area that looked like this ward." Emily said as they got Gideon and Morgan on the phone. 

"Well, we were right about him being homeless in a sense. Wherever he is in his mental state, he's certainly not at home." Gideon said. 

"He may not even be aware he's killing."

"How's that?" The detective asked. 

"When soldiers suffer from anxiety, depression and flashbacks in WWI it was called shell shock. In WWII battle fatigue. Now we refer to it as PTSD. A side effect of which is slipping into dissociative states." Reid explained, trying a side glance at Olivia. 

"The mind divorces itself from reality so it can cope with the trauma." She finished instinctively. 

"He's reliving a memory." Gideon added, "He's trapped in his head in some war zone." 

"Hiding and defending himself from the enemy."

"Okay so, how do we find a man whose trapped inside his head?" JJ asked. 

"He's got a wedding ring." Emily said suddenly. "Someone's missing him."

"JJ check missing persons reports, see if anyone matches the description. It would have been filed recently, the last two or three days." Hotch instructed. 

Jason interrupted, "We need to put a SWAT team together and search building to building."

"He's reliving the war, isn't he?" Hotch asked. 

"A specific incident in which he killed a child." Jason nodded. 

"Guys, the SWAT team's gonna have guns, right?" Spencer asked. "What happens if he tries to fight them?"


	33. Distress pt.3

Olivia and Morgan were gearing up in the bullpen when Reid walked in. He watched as she strapped her thigh holster to her leg and clipped in her mag. "You're going?" He asked. 

Olivia looked over at Derek and nodded at him. I'll meet you outside." She said. 

"Sure thing." He said, shooting a side glance at Reid on his way out. 

"What do you want?" She asked as she adjusted the strap on her Kevlar vest. 

"You're going out there." He said softly. 

"That's my job." She said dismissively, turning away from him. 

He took a step forward and reached out to place a hand on her arm, steadying her so he could adjust the strap at her back. She froze immediately, not daring to look at him. 

"This guy isn't going to know that you're not a threat." He said gently. "You can't do anything to trigger that instinct in him or he will start shooting."

"I know that." She whispered back. 

"Don't let him get too close." He added, letting his hand linger a moment longer on her back. 

"I have to go." She said, stepping away from him. She didn't spare him a second glance this time as she headed for the doors where Morgan was waiting outside. 

Spencer watched her go and hung his head, walking back into the conference room to wait for the phone call. 

***

It wasn't until later when he saw her board the plane that Spencer was finally able to let out the breath he had been holding. That sense of relief in seeing her okay and alive wasn't enough when she purposely went out of her way to avoid him. 

She Immediately walked to the opposite end of the plane and pulled her sweatshirt over her head, creating a warm cocoon for herself to fall asleep in. Spencer just watched as she battled with the demon of once again having to walk away from a case with a dead unsub. It hit her hard every time, she had told him that once. 

Today though he had made it so much worse, and he knew that. The guilt stayed with him as he watched over her restless attempt at sleep from a distance. He wished he could take it all away. But there wasn't any going back.


	34. Jones

This time, Spencer wasn't late to work. He came in early and tried continuing their tradition of bringing the other coffee before work. But he noticed when she entered the roundtable room that she'd just left the cup on her desk. She still sat in her usual seat, which perked him up a bit. But she never looked over at him with her usual smile, never said good morning. 

"We've got a serial killer in New Orleans who killed at least three men pre-Katrina." JJ began. "Until now, the New Orleans Police Department believed that the serial killer died in the storm."

"And what's happened to tell them otherwise?" Derek asked. 

"A fourth body was found in the French Quarter last night, Same M.O., another male, throat slashed, eviscerated."

"A year and a half? That's a long cooling off period. Are we sure it's the same unsub?" Emily asked. 

"He claims to be. Se sent a letter to William Lamontagne, the head detective on the case."

Jason leaned forward. "Does he have any leads?"

"He died in Katrina." JJ said, "His son is actually leading the case now."

"That can't be easy." Derek murmured. 

"Well we need to pour over the evidence from the first three murders and determine the pattern." Hotch said, going over the notes. 

"The storm washed everything away." JJ said. "The three victims we know of, their autopsy reports, witness statements, DNA test results."

"So basically all we have to go on is the latest victim?" Spencer asked, causing Olivia to shift away from him slightly. No one else noticed it, but he did.

"Until he kills again" Hotch answered. 

Later on the plane, Olivia continued to keep her distance, which left Spencer in more of a somber mood. She sat herself beside Gideon on the couch as she read through the case file again. Spencer sat next to Derek on the other end, lost in his own thoughts. "Hey, Reid." he asked, "What's going on up there?"

"Oh I was uh... Just thinking of this old friend of mine. From Las Vegas, Ethan. Pretty sure he lives in New Orleans now."

"Really? You gonna give him a call?"

"Grew up competing against each other in absolutely everything. Spelling Bees, science fairs. We also both had our hearts set on joining the bureau. First day at Quantico he backed out."

"He probably couldn't take the heat." Emily said trying to lighten the mood. 

"It's not really for us to judge, is it?" He asked.

"Right. My bad." She said quietly. 

Reid chanced a glance over at Olivia and saw her stone cold eyes avoiding his. 

"These are copies on the newspaper articles on the murders dating back to early August 2005." JJ said handing out the sheets. "It's all we have to go on for now."

"He killed three times, he stopped for 18 months, then he started killing again." Hotch read. 

"We should have Garcia run a list of any offenders in the area. Anyone who spent the last year and a half doing time." Gideon suggested. 

"Or anyone that relocated after Katrina and recently moved back." Olivia added. 

"What is the victimology in killing a mechanic, a real estate broker and a cook, whose ages ranged from 22 to 45?" Emily asked out loud.

"And this latest is a 33 year old taxi driver." JJ added. "They just don't seem to have very much in common besides being male and walking the French Quarter late at night. I mean, it's notorious for muggings, but that's off the main drag. 

"But this guy doesn't seem like he's in a rush to flee the scene." Olivia said. "A slaughter like this takes time."

"Andrei Chikatilo fantasized that the men he killed were his captives and that torturing and mutilating them somehow made him a hero." Spencer blurted out quickly. They locked eyes on one another for half a second before she purposefully looked away. 

"The City's barely back to life. Something like this could cripple it's psyche." Jason mused. "So where do we start?" JJ asked. 

"Well with no case file, there's only one place we can start. At square one." Hotch answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh she pissed.


	35. Jones pt.2

"You must be B.A.U." a young man greeted, holding his hand out as JJ, Gideon, Morgan and Olivia entered the crime scene. "Will Lamontagne." He introduced. 

"Hi. Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone. " She answered. 

"Well okay then." He smiled. "I pictured you different."

After a beat JJ turned away, "Uh these are agents, Gideon, Morgan and Kallis. This is Detective William Lamontagne Jr."

"Appreciate you guys being here." He said, shaking their hands. Olivia and Derek shared a look at the way the man was surveying JJ and smiled. "My daddy was too stubborn to ever ask for any help."

"Sorry for your loss." Jason replied. "I understand you received a letter?"

"Yeah before they were lost in Katrina, my daddy received two others. This one came addressed to him yesterday. They passed it on to me." He said, handing it to Jason. 

"You sure it's from the same killer?" JJ asked. 

"It's a detailed account of what he did to the body." Gideon replied. 

They walked around the outer area of the crime scene. "I'd be pretty easy to hide out in one of these alcoves, wait for the victim without ever being seen." Derek mused as he moved around. 

"Yeah, all four murders occurred within a ten block radius here inside the French Quarter." The detective agreed. 

"At any given night, there'd have to be thousands of people walking through here from the bars." JJ added. 

"Tens of thousands. When I first started as a cop, I worked the Quarter. It's like being in the riot squad every night. Every Sunday I'd get off work around sunrise, I'm ready to pass out, my daddy's be waiting for me at my house. Make me drive him uptown to Frankie and Johnny's for po'boys. " He smiled. 

"Did your father tell you anything else about this case that we should know?" Gideon asked. 

"He tried to, but you guys should see that for yourself."

They arrived at the Detective's home and carefully moved about the property. "This wall is still standing where Daddy carved the message, right before he died." Will explained. He pointed at the bottom half near the floor board where a word was carved in. "There's no doubt he's still working from the grave." He said. 

"'jones'. That name mean anything to you?" Olivia asked. 

"No, I ran it through the database against every offender in New Orleans. And you can imagine how many hits I got. But nothing came up in connection with this case." he explained. 

"But in your dad's final moments, It was the most important thing he wanted to say." JJ said quietly. 

"I learned how to play the drums in this house, grew up with two dogs in this house. All it's gonna be now is the word 'jones' carved into that wall."

"Detective, if he had written the unsub's name, I think you would have found him by now, Jones is the one piece of the puzzle that your daddy did know. He trusted you to figure out the rest." Derek explained. 

"I know it. But I've poured over it a thousand times and I still can't put it together. I can't get it out of my head. It eats at me every day." He said as Olivia and Morgan continued to look around the space. "You okay?" Olivia heard the woman whisper gently. 

"Yeah, I just don't wanna disappoint him."

***

That night, Olivia was grateful that no one had to share rooms. She could just be herself and not have to hide anything. Didn't have to put on a front for Emily, and she was spared the blushing cheeks of JJ every time the detective's name was mentioned. She just wasn't in the mood for anything tonight. 

She changed into her pyjamas, a pair of shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt, before laying a large towel from the bathroom on her hotel floor. She used it as a makeshift yoga mat as she stretched out her sore muscles from the long flight and even longer day. Laying on her back she could hear footsteps out in the hall. She turned her attention to them, looking at the stream of light underneath when the footsteps stopped nearby. 

She glanced at her weapon on the small table beside the bed and back at the doorway, straining to hear any sound, but the person outside her room just stood there. Not saying anything, or doing anything. 

Carefully, she got to her feet and padded across the carpeted floor, trying not to make any noise. She reached up on her toes and glanced out the peep hole into the hallway. Spencer was standing nearby, fidgeting with his hands and running them over the fabric of his cuffs, as if he was trying to pull them down further. 

Her eyebrows creased together as she watched him, hoping that he would just walk away. She definitely wasn't in the mood to have any conversation with him right now. Fact of the matter was she was mad at him. Mad at the way he treated her, sure. But more about how he treated the others on their team. How he was treating himself. 

She let out the breath she had been holding and walked away from the door, leaving him alone on the other side. Not tonight. She told herself. She snatched up the towel from the floor and threw it onto a nearby chair before climbing under the covers. She closed her eyes and forced herself to ignore the footsteps that had started to retreat from her door.


	36. Jones pt.3

The next day they all gathered in the police department to deliver the profile. Hotch started, 

"The offender we're looking for is friendly, agile, somewhere between 30 and 35."

Jason continued, "He'll allure with charm and kill with rage."

"We believe he's murdering men to reclaim his power." Emily said, "This unsub suffers from low self-esteem, but he probably covers it well. He dresses impeccably to feed the façade. Jack the Ripper himself was an impetuous lust murderer, whereas this offender is organized, calculating. He may even stalk his victims for days before the actual kill."

"We believe this killer identifies with Jack the Ripper because he's lost his own identity. Maybe through years of child abuse... Or some catastrophic event." Olivia added. 

"Because he overcompensates to hide his insecurities, we believe he may hold a position of authority at work." Aaron said. 

"And since we think he's had medical training, "Emily added. "consider EMTs, doctors, veterinarians."

"Please be careful." Gideon finished. "To this unsub the French Quarter's a hunting ground. He's certainly already proven he knows the terrain."

After the officers had left, the group sat in the bullpen going over their information. Emily's phone rang. "Prentiss."

Olivia smirked as her eyebrows creased, "Oh. Uh-uh...I don't know." She said, defeated. "Mm-hmm. And are you going anywhere with this?" She asked. 

Olivia chuckled, "Garcia." She explained at Gideon's confused look. 

"Yeah, me too. Great work." she said hanging up the phone. "Garcia found a similar case in Galveston, Texas."

"A lot of Katrina refugees relocated there." Jason agreed.

"It could be the same guy, he removed the kidney, just like Jack the Ripper."

"Call Reid and Morgan, I want the three of you on a plane to Texas tonight."

"Okay." She said, reaching for her cell again. She looked frustrated at her phone and tried calling out again. 

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked. 

"I can't get Reid on his cell."

"Try Derek and give it a few minutes, he probably just can't talk right now."

"Yeah, you're right." Emily mumbled, calling another number. "Hey, Morgan. Grab your bag from the hotel, we're going to Texas. Penelope found a similar murder there... In an hour. Okay, see you."

Emily looked down at her phone. "Give it a minute." Olivia reminded her. 

"You have a lot more patience than I do." The woman sighed, hitting the call button anyway. 

"You'd be surprised." Olivia mumbled to herself as she looked back through her case files. 

***

Olivia, Emily and Derek were sitting in the conference room the next morning when Spencer walked in. Emily had spent the evening in Olivia's room ranting about the young man's irresponsibility for well over an hour. She knew this moment was going to be interesting. 

"Hey, you guys back from Galveston?" He asked, setting his bag down. 

Olivia looked up at them, "I'm going to get some coffee." She said, excusing herself from the room as Spencer's eyes followed her. 

She had almost made her way to the kitchen when Aaron approached her. "We just found another body in the Quarter."

They spent the majority of their day at the crime scene, looking at everything from a new angle now. Their unsub was a woman. A woman imitating Jack the Ripper. As night fell they came up with a plan to split off into groups and walk the French Quarter by foot. With the profile in mind they were all hoping they'd be able to see something the officers hadn't. 

Gideon and Emily.  
Spencer and Derek.   
JJ and Detective Lamontagne.  
Olivia and Aaron. 

"Most of the women are out in groups, keep an eye out for someone on their own." Hotch reminded her as she walked slowly through the crowd. 

"'So many men, so little time.' Isn't that what she said?" This is like being a kid in a candy store for her." Olivia said looking around. 

"Then why does she apologize every time for the mess?" Aaron asked. 

After a while they groups all met up. "Hey, we got nothing." Derek said shaking his head. 

"Well the day's almost over. So if you're right about her killing twice we just ran out of time." Aaron stated, looking at his watch. 

A few hours later and they were back at another crime scene again. "She's mocking us." Will said, looking down at the body. 

"And she's true to her word." Emily agreed.

Spencer kneeled down next to the body. "Do-do you have any tweezers?" He asked the medical examiner. "Thank you."

He leaned in close and extracted a piece of paper from the victim's mouth.

"What is that?" Emily asked. 

"I have no idea." He carefully unfolded it with his gloved hands. "It's a note from the unsub. Addressed to your father." He said, looking up at the detective. 

"Dear Boss, He wanted it. With that sharp tongue and vulgar hand. Thought you'd like to know another will soon get what he deserves. Yours truly."

"That's weird." Reid continued. "Typically offenders write letters to be heard. Jack the Ripper bragged about not being caught. This unsub isn't using correspondence to flaunt her latest kill. Only to explain why she did it."

"It's possible that she considers herself a vigilante." Emily suggested. "That the men she's killing deserve to die."

"Or maybe she's contacting your father, not because he was the lead detective on the case but, she believes he'd understand." Gideon offered. 

"You think he knew her somehow?"

"Can you think of a woman in your dad's life he helped through tough times? Might be another police officer... I don't know, a prostitute he helped get off the street?" JJ asked.

"No, he hasn't dealt with prostitutes since, uh...since he worked sex crimes."

"The unsub wrote, 'he was asking to be ripped. I just couldn't help myself and he wanted it.' what if... She's mirroring the man who raped her?" Spencer asked. 

"Where are the files stored from your sex crimes division?" Jason asked. 

"They were housed the same place as homicide. Most of it washed away."

"Did your dad have a partner?" JJ asked. 

"Yeah, J.R. Smith. Smitty, they call him."

"He might remember something." Olivia offered. 

"Yeah but they had a falling out." Will explained. 

"What about?"

"I don't know. They stopped talking when he left sex crimes. That was nine years ago. The guy didn't even come to my Daddy's funeral, so... "

"You have a problem calling him?" Gideon asked. 

"Not if it means breaking this case." He said looking down, something caught his eye. He turned to JJ, "Honey, may I borrow your hand for a minute?" He asked. 

Olivia and Emily smirked at one another and watched as He took JJ by the wrist, guiding her to the victim's hand. "I'll be damned." He muttered. 

"What is it?" Emily asked. 

"The stamp on the victim's hand? It's admittance into the 'Mon Cherie', it's a bar in the French Quarter." He explained. "Nine years ago it was called 'Jones'." 

"Bingo." Gideon smiled. "Get Garcia on the horn."

"You guys head down there, I'll go update Hotch." Olivia said, reaching for the keys in Emily's hand. 

"I'll go with you." Spencer added following her. 

They rode in an uncomfortable silence until they were less than a block away. 

"Can... " Spencer cleared his throat. "Can I apologize?" He asked as she parked the SUV. 

She let out a heavy sigh. "No. Not right now. Right now we catch this chick." She said as her phone rang. "Kallis." She said into the speaker. 

"We got an address." Derek's voice replied.


	37. Jones pt.4

Derek, Aaron, Spencer and Olivia all piled out of the vehicle when they reached their destinations. Weapons hot, they followed Morgan's lead towards the front door. Hotch turned and made eye contact with the later two, signalling for them to go around back. 

"FBI." Hotch yelled as they kicked down the door. After a few moments they could clearly see that no one was home. 

"Clear."

"Clear." Reid answered back. "Guys, there are some Ripperologists who speculate that Mary Kelly was actually killed in a flat that Jack the Ripper rented for the night."

"I'm gonna have Garcia check Sara Danlin's credit card accounts. It's a long shot, but maybe we can trace her room back to her charge cards." Derek said, pulling out his cell. 

"Souvenirs." Aaron said holding up a leaflet. "These are from bars in the French Quarter, this is from 'Mon Cherie'." He held it out for the others to see. 

"She's trolling for victims in the place where it all began."

"She can't move on. The rape isn't the whole story. I'll bet there's a history of sexual abuse that contributes to her rage as well."

"It's almost like, by taking on the Ripper persona, she was trying to kill something within herself." Olivia said quietly. 

Derek's phone rang, "Yeah mama, what do you got?... Ah baby girl, you never disappoint. Thank you." He said hanging up the phone. "Royal Ruby Inn?" He asked the detective. 

"That's 2 blocks from here."

They lined up to begin the same process over again at the hotel. Aaron kicked the door in. "FBI." He announced. "Drop the knife." Derek ordered as they all entered the room. 

"Sara put it down." Olivia repeated. 

"He wanted it!" Sara cried out. "And he got it." She smiled from her spot on top of the man. She had tied him to the bed and straddled his hips to hold him down. There were several swipes on the knife across his bloodied chest and she held it fast to his throat.

"Put it down now." Derek ordered again.

"What are you waiting for?" She said, looking at him now. "Ma'am we don't want to shoot you."

"Be such a shame to waste this." She smirked. "Do you want it too?"

"What I want, is for you to put that knife down." He explained. 

"Come on. Don't fight it." She encouraged. 

Sara, my name's William Lamontagne Jr." Will said, putting his weapon away. "You knew my Daddy?" He asked. 

"You trusted him. So trust me."

"Where is he?" Sara asked desperately.

"The storm took him." He answered as a single tear trickled down her cheek. "Come on, it's over." He said gesturing to the knife. He took it from her hands and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the bed. 

***

Spencer sat back in the jazz bar just listening to the music when Gideon approached him. He sat down in his own seat and looked at the younger man. 

"How did you find me?" Spencer asked. 

"You're not all that hard to profile." The man admitted. "Your friend is good."

Spencer nodded. "I missed that plane on purpose." He said softly after a long moment.

"I know."

He chuckled. "You're not the only one to notice."

"I know that too." 

Spencer took a long breath. "I'm struggling."

"Well... anybody who's been through what you've been through recently... would."

"It's not right though, the way I've treated...the team... these past few days." He said, covering up the blush on his cheeks. 

"It's just- this is all I was groomed for, I never even... I never even considered another option."

"And now you're questioning whether or not you're strong enough to be here?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm questioning a lot of things."

"I have been playing at this job... In one way or another for almost 30 years. I've felt lost. I've felt great. I have felt scared, sick, and insane. I don't know. I guess the day this job stops gnawing at your soul and... hands... your hands stop feeling cold... Maybe that's the time to leave. But it's not when you have... people... here willing to help you. To call you on it." He said pointedly. He didn't need to though, Reid already knew who he meant. 

"I guess I... I just needed to try and figure out if I could step away from this job."

"And?"

"I'll never miss another plane again." 

"Then why are we missing one now?" Gideon said, standing. 

Spencer smiled and followed his lead out of the building without another glance. 

***

Spencer drove through the night with a specific destination in mind. The plane had landed hours ago, but he wasn't going home. Not yet. 

He knew the route by heart. He just hoped she was still awake. That she would let him in. 

He pulled up in front of the building and quickly climbed out of the vehicle, heading for the front door. He found her name on the buzzer quickly and pressed the button. 

Nothing. 

He pressed it again. 

No answer. 

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next when a patron exited the door and held it open for him. 

"Thank you very much." He said, ducking inside. 

He climbed the staircase two at a time to the third floor and quickly headed to her door. He let out a deep breath before raising his hand and knocking on the wood. Still no answer. 

"Olivia?" He tried again. "Olivia, It's Spencer." He said, leaning against the door. "I- uh... I know you probably still don't want to talk to me. But- um... I wanted to try and-and apologize again. I wanted to tell you... "

He didn't notice her behind him as she slowly walked down the hallway. Her eyes on him the whole time. "Spencer?" She said, getting closer. The man whirled around to face her and his whole face turned bright red. "Oh- uh... I-I thought..." He trailed off gesturing to the door. "Never mind." he sighed. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked softer this time, she was balancing two shopping bags in one hand and her go-bag in the other. 

"Do you need some help?" He asked, reaching out to grab one of the bags. 

"Spencer." She said firmly, stopping him. She set the bags down on the floor and turned to him properly.

"You were right." He blurted out, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Everything you said. You were right. Especially the part about how I've been treating you. How I've been treating everyone. It's not right, and It's not okay." 

"Why are you telling me this now?" She whispered, her face hesitant. 

"Because I'm struggling." He admitted quietly, hanging his head. "I need help. I know that now. And most of all I needed you say every word that you did. I don't want to spend another week having you looking at me like that. Disappointed in me. It-it snapped me back. And I'm figuring it out. I just- I wanted to tell you. I wanted to say... thank you."

A long moment passed between them where neither said anything. 

"You're figuring it out?" She asked carefully.

Reid nodded. "Gideon... he took me to a meeting tonight. And then he destroyed everything... everything that I had. I made an appointment with a doctor. We're going to figure it out." He said hopefully. 

A relieved sigh escaped her and Olivia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Spencer." She whispered as a hand came up to the back of his neck fingering the soft curls there. 

He immediately circled his own arms around her waist and pulled her close. The comfort that came from a single embrace from her, it was better than any drug, he decided. And being without it for this long had effectively ruined him, he wasn't going to give that up again. 

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled into her hair, he closed his eyes at the sweetness of the scent that was just... her. It warmed and relaxed him instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know she had to make him sweat it out in order to step up.   
> But I've always been proud of this part of his story.


	38. Ashes to Dust

The following weeks had been hard. But so worth it. Everyday Olivia could see more and more of the old Spencer shining through again. They had gone back to their old routines. When she could, Olivia would pick him up on their way to work and he would have coffee waiting when she arrived. In the evenings, she would drop him off at meetings and do word searches in the car while she waited for him. 

He would tell her time and time again that she didn't need to wait for him. That she should go to bed. But she did it anyway without complaint. He reached out for help, and she was reaching back.

That morning, they arrived together early for work. Him explaining a highly scientific engineering article that he held in his hand and her mostly smiling and pretending to listen. She was just happy to hear the animated joy in his voice again. She would be happy to listen to him ramble any day. 

But today they were interrupted by yet another gruesome case. "Two fires, two families, in three weeks." JJ explained handing out casefiles. "The first family, the Jarvis', all died. Last night, the Cutler's, only one survivor, Charlotte Cutler. She's in critical condition with burns to over 60% of her body."

"Well it's no accident. It's the same M.O.. No fuses, kerosene, multiple points of origin, families targeted at home while they slept." Emily stated. 

"The Bay Area has a serial arsonist." Hotch said. 

"Statistically 94% of all serial arsonists are male, 75% are white, few- if any are ever caught." Spencer explained. 

"Few? You don't have a percentage?" Emily teased. 

Olivia smirked as she took a sip of her coffee and waited. "About 16%, and those 16% set thirty-plus before they were ever apprehended." He lowered his voice slightly, "I'm trying to be more conversational." He said matter-of-factly. 

"Oh. It's not working." Emily smiled sarcastically. 

Olivia scoffed into her cup at that. Earning her a chuckle from Derek. 

"Most serial arsonists don't intend to inflict harm. Injuries or death- those are accidental. It's not about violence." Emily said.

"For this one it is." Hotch said. 

"It's also about power." Jason supplied. "Seeing the destructive force of their fires. Watching the chaos. For them fire is just a substitute for sexual release."

"Oh great, so if these guys don't get laid, they start fires?" Garcia asked with a smirk. 

"Or in this case burn entire families to death." Gideon said seriously, darkening the mood in the room once again. 

"No statistic?" Emily asked quietly. 

Reid shook his head. 

"No, we don't have statistics on this guy." Gideon continued. "One of a kind."

"Thank god." Garcia mumbled. 

"Three weeks ago, this serial arsonist escalated into a serial killer who's weapon is fire. Why?" Reid asked out loud.

"Major event. Possibly the break-up of his primary sexual outlet. The separation. The loss." Olivia answered, causing him to blush slightly. That was a really clinical way of putting it, he thought. 

"What about the victims?" Gideon asked. 

"SFPD can't connect the Jarvis' and the Cutler's, but witnesses put an unidentified late model gold sedan near both fires." JJ answered. 

Hotch nodded. "Run the car. Garcia, run the victims through the system. If there's any connection we need to find it." 

"Yes sir. " 

"Reid and Olivia, Victimology. I'll go see Charlotte Cutler." 

"You took the burn ward last time." Jason said, looking over at him. 

"It's alright, I got it." Those were his final words before everyone filed out of the room to get their things.

Olivia and Spencer headed for their side-by-side desk arrangement. He glanced up as she started putting her things together. 

"You ready for this?" He asked quietly.

Olivia sighed and met his eyes. "Are we ever?" She looked around for a moment. "Is Gideon okay?" She asked carefully, lowering her voice. "I know I don't know him as well as you guys do, but... he's a little... Intense today."

Spencer spared a glance towards the man's closed door and looked back at her. "I honestly don't know. It's interesting actually, for someone who is so analytically driven he can come across quite...emotionally." He said as they began to make their way towards the elevator. 

"Well, we all are on occasion." Olivia said, stepping inside. 

"I suppose that's true." Spencer agreed.


	39. Ashes to Dust pt.2

Once the team was back on the ground again, they split up. Each group taking a vehicle. Olivia sat in the passenger seat while Spencer threw his bags in the back and climbed in beside her. 

She watched as he rolled his sleeves up his forearms before starting the vehicle and heading towards the police station. From behind her sunglasses, she watched his hands as he drove. How had she never noticed it before, she didn't know, but his hands were strong. 

She found herself staring just a little too long at the way they moved elegantly with the steering wheel at every turn he performed. She forced her eyes to stare absently out the window as her cheeks blushed. What had brought that on? She mentally chastised herself. 

She recognized the small flutter in her belly as a mixture of embarrassment and... Well, let's just call it admiration. She thought to herself. Yes. Admiration was allowed. She could appreciate the attractive features in anyone without it being ...a thing. 

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked, glancing over at her, causing her to snap back into reality. 

"Oh- yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just...lost in my thoughts." She said as she went back to staring out the window. But then she noticed it. They had arrived at the station already and the SUV was stopped out front. 

"Sorry." She mumbled, pushing the door open to step outside.

Spencer mirrored her actions, grabbing his bag and the stack of case files from the back seat. An amused smile crossing his features as they walked up the steps together. 

"That kind of thoughts?" He asked, holding the door open for her. 

Olivia chuckled as they made their way inside. She never answered him, instead they were greeted and directed to a large table to work. 

"I smell coffee." Spencer said, placing the items down on the table and wandering away. Olivia shook her head as he left. "That man would find coffee on a desert island." She mumbled as she began laying out information to be pinned onto the empty boards around them. 

"Good morning, agent." A female voice said behind her. Olivia turned to see a petit woman with short hair extending her hand as she approached. 

"I'm Detective Castro, I'm with the SFPD liaison." 

"Pleasure to meet you." Olivia said shaking her hand. "Special agent Kallis, BAU."

"I believe I spoke with an agent Jareau on the phone?"

Olivia nodded, "Yes, she should be right behind us."

"Us?" The woman asked eyeing the paperwork already spread out. 

"Right, the majority of our team is out in the field already. But Doctor-"

"This place is great, they have their own espresso machine." Spencer said happily rounding the corner with two cups of coffee and a first aid kit. 

Olivia chuckled in amusement. Yup, no more awkwardness here.

"Good timing. Doctor Reid, this is Detective Castro. Thank you." Olivia introduced as she took the cup the man handed her. 

"I uh, burned my hand on the espresso machine." He explained, trying to hold up the box when it opened all over the table and spilled out. 

"The genius agent Jareau mentioned?" The detective asked, watching as Reid worked on cleaning up his mess.

"Worth every IQ point." Olivia assured her with a smile as JJ walked in. 

"Good. Because we need to figure out how this psycho targets these families." 

"He's most likely targeting the men." Spencer supplied. "They're the most similar members of these two families."

"Sorry I'm late." JJ apologised, setting her things down in a chair. She noticed the mess around Spencer and looked over at Olivia with a questioning glance. 

The woman held her hand up subtly and shook her head with a smile as she stood up and went over to help as Spencer made a bee-line towards the board. "Lee Jarvis, 29. worked full time. Charlotte Cutler, 39, was a stay-at-home mom. The Jarvis' had two girls in public grade school, the Cutler's had a son in private high school. The Jarvis' went to church, the Cutler's didn't. Nothing holds." He explained as the detective studied him. 

"Except with the men, both in their late thirties, white, approximately six feet tall, brown hair, nice homes, nice families, good jobs- that's the connection."

"What connection? Jarvis was a lawyer, Cutler, an executive. There's not evidence they ever met. "

"They're of the same type. We know that most serial arsonists are males. A complex M.O. Would develop over time. This guy is in his mid-thirties, he's sees the victims as successful versions of himself and he resents them for it." Spencer finished, taking a sip of his coffee cup in the moment of silence that followed. 

The detective resigned and nodded. "I'll issue an APB, for a resentful, six foot white guy." She murmured at JJ before walking away. 

Before JJ followed, she gave him a sarcastic thumbs up and chuckled.

"I thought that was very well put together." Spencer said, looking over at Olivia in defense. 

Olivia smiled, "Oh it was. Now come here and let me look at your hand." She said, patting the seat in front of her. 

He sat down and handed her his wrist where she could see the red mark beginning to appear on his skin. "You ran it under cold water?" She asked, taking his hand in hers as she inspected it. He nodded. 

"That was fast. It's already quite red. " She said, the pad of her thumb tracing the outside of the burn as she rummaged through the first aid kit with the other. 

"I'm pretty pale." Spencer shrugged as he tried to ignore the soothing sensation her cold fingers had on the area. He watched in fascination as she methodically treated the area with a thin layer of burn cream and wrapped his wrist in a thin gauze to keep it clean. 

With one last caress of her fingers over the area, she gently eased his sleeve back down over the bandage and closed the button. When she looked up again, she caught him staring and blushed. She removed her hands from his, which came as an instant disappointment to him. She met his eyes again, handing him his watch. 

"You should leave that off for a while." She pointed out.

"Right. Thanks." He said, shoving it into his pocket. He was about to say something else when his phone rang. They both seemed to jump back at the loud noise, and Reid reached out for his cell. 

"Yeah." He said, clearing his throat first. "Got it. Thanks, Hotch."

He hung up and looked down for a moment, fingering the edge of his bandage before looking up at Olivia. "Charlotte Cutler died."

Olivia sighed and nodded. "Time to deliver your profile."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love his rambles... too cute!


	40. Ashes to Dust pt.3

"The unsub we're looking for is a highly-intelligent, under-achieving, 35-45 year old white male, with severe narcissistic character disorder." Hotch said to the room of police officers. 

"Nothing in his life works for long." Gideon added, "If he was married, he's now divorced. If he's employed- it won't last." 

Derek continued, "What he wants is admiration. But he's got no respect for others. Not their feelings and most certainly not their safety."

"He feels entitled. He's like a petulant adolescent. He both resents and he absolutely expects others to take care of him." 

Olivia spoke up, "And given that a male relative wouldn't tolerate this behaviour, he most likely lives with a female relative: his mother, grandmother, aunt...whom he exploits. "

"His arson kit is expensive. Fire suit, oxygen mask, this suggests that he is employed, but his personality will not allow him to work with others in an office setting." Derek continued

"This, along with the information about his vehicle, leads us to believe that he's a travelling salesman of sort who works for a company big enough not to notice that he's a sociopath."

Detective Castro interrupted. "Okay this scumbag has issues- we get it. But why fire?"

Spencer's voice came through the almost silent room. "He's like a drug addict. Only, fire is his drug. Each time an addict needs a fix, they need more of the drug to get off, so his crimes will mostly get much worse. It would be almost impossible for him to quit without help." He finished, taking half a second to glance over at Jason, before dropping his gaze. 

"Thank you very much." Aaron concluded.

The doctor stayed where he was for a moment. Watching the rest of the room spring into action and mingle around. He let out the breath he had been holding. He didn't intend on saying anything, certainly not anything that he related to. But he felt lighter, and was glad he did. 

He was vaguely aware of the actions of his own team around him until Olivia placed her hand on Spencer's shoulder, letting it trail down his arm in comfort as she made her way past him. 

Yeah. He was glad. He thought, as he stood and followed the other agents out of the room. 

He stayed back to check his phone when it beeped at him and then continued into the Fire Lieutenant's office. 

"Garcia's on line one." He said, entering the room. 

The man pressed a button on his phone and the woman's bright voice filled the space. 

"Brace yourselves. I'm gonna teach you the meaning of lust." 

"Did she say, 'lust'?" Gideon asked. 

"Mmmhmmm. I cross-referenced every known fact on the victims and I just found a website that links both Denis Cutler, and Matthew Jarvis' companies. On a list of businesses guilty of LUST."

"I'm missing something." Aaron said. 

"Leaking underground storage tanks." Penelope supplied. "The website belongs to a recently founded San Francisco chapter of the Earth Defense Fund."

"The EDF?" Emily asked. "The eco-terrorist group?" 

"They-"  
"They-" Olivia chuckled, "My apologies, doctor." she said gesturing for him to finish. 

"They aren't eco-terrorists." He continued. "They're environmental activists."

"Denis Cutler and Matthew Jarvis may disagree with you." Derek said.

"I'm pretty sure some of the EDF people were sent up for torching an SUV dealership a while ago is San Diego." The Lieutenant said. 

Gideon shook his head. "Nobody died in those fires."

"Maybe they got lucky." Emily said. 

"No, it's not luck. This group's dedicated to protecting life."

"What, do they wait until no one's home and then light the place up?" 

"That's exactly what they do." Aaron said. 

"Alright, you're telling me that the FBI doesn't have....files on organizations like this? Lists and members?" The Lieutenant asked. 

"Domestic groups like the EDF aren't the Bureau's priority right now." Derek explained. 

"Besides, they're more of a movement than an organization." Olivia added. 

"There's central ideology, but- the chapters are independent. They don't pay dues and they don't keep membership lists."

"What if one of the chapters has broken ranks, and has a new belief?" Emily asked. 

"Hurting people's never been part of it- doesn't track." Jason said. "Garcia. Can you identify how many members are in this particular EDF chapter?" 

"Looks like... 100-150."

They all stopped when the alert came over the fire radio.

"There's been another fire."

***

Hotch and Emily had been staking out the suspect's movements for the rest of the day, while the rest of the team continued to go over evidence until it was too late in the night to do anything else. 

"You really think anything is going to come out of waiting outside the meeting?" JJ asked as she sipped the last of her remaining coffee. 

"You never know. Could push someone to make a move."

"Like an overwhelming urge to turn himself in?" Reid asked with a smirk. 

"Yeah, just like that." Olivia said, covering up a yawn. "God-I'm tired." She said stretching back into her chair. 

"It's late. Let's turn in for the night." Gideon suggested. 

"I'll text Hotch." Morgan agreed. 

"I don't suppose you want to carry me all the way back?" Olivia asked, chuckling. She was the only one who hadn't moved from her seat. 

Spencer smiled. "Not in the slightest. Come on." He said, extending his hand to her. She took it and let him pull her up onto her feet. 

"Thank you." She smiled, placing her other hand on his chest to steady herself. 

*  
"Should we wait for them?" Emily said, nodding her head towards the two from the other side of the bullpen. They had yet to realize that they were the only ones left in the room. 

Derek shook his head. "Nah. He has keys. Let's get out of here, I'm exhausted."  
*

Instead of moving away, Spencer placed his hand over hers to keep it there as he reached behind her and grabbed her go bag from the back of her chair, draping the strap over her shoulder. "I owed you one." He shrugged with a smirk.

"You did?" She asked, her whole head fuzzy from exhaustion. 

He raised his hand up in explanation. "Right." Olivia nodded, noticing the white bandage she had wrapped around his wrist. She cocked her head to the side. "You've had quite the day. I just forgot it had only been one day. Feels like three." She mumbled. 

"I'm okay." Spencer assured her. "I feel good." he said, squeezing the hand he held under his. 

Olivia smiled up at him. "I know. I still worry though." She said as she watched him pull away and gather his own things. 

"Let's go." He said quietly as he watched her cover up another yawn. Reid took her hand and looped it through his good arm, happy when she pulled him closer against the chill of the night air as they stepped outside. 

"God. And here I though we were in California." She shivered. 

"San Francisco has an average low temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, whereas Los Angeles can be up to 10 degrees warmer during the same month despite the fact that they're only 6 hours apart by car." 

Olivia smiled. "Thanks." 

"For what?" Spencer asked as he opened the door for her. Olivia climbed into the seat and looked at him. 

"We have an unsub burning families alive. But for the past... 10 minutes, everything felt just... normal."

Reid smiled at her and gently closed the door before walking around to the driver's side. He climbed in next to her and started the SUV, letting it warm up for a few moments and watching as Olivia snuggled herself into the seat. Her eyes fluttered shut as he pulled away from the space.


	41. Ashes to Dust pt.4

"It's not Abby. Hotch just called. He's got Leukemia." JJ said, entering the room. 

"How long?" Olivia asked.

"Six months." 

"Wow."

"He's agreed to work with us. Hotch gave him the profile and he gave us a name. Vincent Styles."

"SWAT's on its way?" Reid asked. 

"They already hit his house, he's not there. The team's on their way back now."

"Okay so we need to figure own where he's going, and fast." Olivia said.

"Who?" JJ asked. 

"Both of them." Reid explained as Hotch stalked by the group in a huff, Derek, Emily and Gideon falling behind as they sat at the table. They all watched the man's body language as he avoided their gaze and slammed the office door shut behind him.

JJ raised her eyebrows at them and Derek leaned back. "Not it."

Olivia rose to her feet and without a word, made her way towards the door. Morgan watched, impressed. "Girl's got balls." 

"He's pretty pissed?" JJ asked. 

"Wouldn't you be?" Emily asked. 

She didn't bother knocking, Olivia simply opened the door and shut it behind her, leaning against the wood. 

Hotch let out a heavy sigh and let his shoulders drop. "Garcia checked Abby's phone records and he called Styles right after I left him." He said irritated. 

"Well, you saw something Abby identified with." Olivia offered. 

Hotch shook his head. "All day long, I catch killers, I save lives, I'm a hero- until my key hits my front door and then I'm just the father and the husband who's never there."

"Well I got half way there." Olivia sympathized. 

"Here's the thing. When I'm home, I'm in this silent panic, because I know that I have to be as good as I can as fast as I can, because I know at any moment the phone is gonna ring and my time is up. And that panic is exactly what I saw in Abby."

"Alright, you're Abby. Dead man walking. You've got to get this right and you have no time left. How do you get him?" She asked, taping right back into their rhythm from years before. 

"I need to stop him."

"How are you gonna do that?

"An eye for an eye. Make him suffer. Make him burn. Somewhere where no one will save him. Somewhere... Where no one else will get hurt."

"Where, Aaron?" She pushed. 

Instead of answering, he headed towards her just as she pushed the door open again. She followed him out into the bullpen as Lieutenant Vega approached them.

"We got a report of a fire in the harbour district." He announced. 

"A warehouse?" Hotch asked. 

"Yeah I've got the address here."

"Can you call Garcia?" He asked Morgan who approached. 

"She's right here." He said, holding up his phone.

"Garcia can you check the zoning code on a warehouse on 6000 San Alameda?"

Emily came up to them. "The SFPD chopper circled the harbour twice, there's no sign of a fire."

Garcia's voice came back over the phone, "Okay 6000 San Alameda is a warehouse approved for commercial storage facility but it's up for sale and preparing for zone conversion-"

"SF to ES?" Hotch asked. 

"Yes, that's right."

The man began to move. "What's ES?" The detective asked. 

"Elementary school, and there's a leaking benzene tank underneath it. This is not a false alarm!" He said as he ran for the SUV with Morgan and Olivia behind him. 

They climbed into the vehicles and immediately set off at a racing pace down the highway, sirens blaring as Olivia strapped into her Kevlar vest in the back seat. 

Up front Derek's cell phone rang and he answered it, "Yeah, what's up?" She watched as he just listened before hanging up. Their eyes met in the rear view mirror and she knew something was wrong. 

A moment later the call came over the radio that the fire had started and Morgan stopped the vehicle. 

"Morgan what are you doing?" Hotch asked as he put the SUV in park. Olivia readied herself for what was about to come next. 

"Hotch. It's too late, man. I'm sorry." He said, looking over at him. 

The unit chief threw his seatbelt to the side and flung the door open. Olivia and Derek scrambled to do the same. 

"Hotch. Stop. Stop!" Morgan commanded as he had to physically prevent the man from going any further. 

"What- he's burning to death and we're just going to stand here?!" Hotch demanded as he resisted against his hold. 

"Aaron." Olivia said gently, coming up beside him. "It's over." She said holding onto his arms. The man looked on at the flames and smoke on the horizon and let out a defeated sigh. 

"He wanted his death to mean something." He swallowed. 

"It did." Olivia whispered before Hotch turned away from them and walked back towards the vehicle. 

***

"You know what I noticed these past few days?" Spencer said as they walked together through the parking lot. 

"A many number of things, I'm sure." Olivia teased.

"You spent this entire case, taking care of other people." 

Olivia looked up at him surprised. Of all the things to ever come out of his mouth, she never would have expected that. 

"You don't believe me?" Reid asked. 

"Um... I just... I never really...thought about that." She said, embarrassed.

"That would be kind of my point." He reminded her, making her smile. 

"Okay. So..." 

"So, uh..." Spencer trailed off, reaching out to take a hold of her arm and stop her movement, turning her to face him. 

"I was thinking I could uh... do...something for you?" He asked sheepishly. 

Olivia's eyebrows shot up. "For me?" 

"Yeah. I mean. You've been...probably the best person in my life lately..." He said reaching up to scratch at the back of his head. "You've been looking out for me and making sure I don't go off on a dilaudid- induced crazy spree...and It's not just me... you do that for everyone. Well it's... different... but still..."

"I do that because I want to, Spencer. Not to keep score." She said gently. 

"No I know- that's exactly why... I- I want to... do something for you. We could-um...we could start with dinner?" He said, he tried to smile with his scarlet blush blooming across his cheeks. 

Olivia ducked her head down when she couldn't fight the large grin anymore. She looked up at him and nodded. "Okay." She said quietly. 

"Okay?" He confirmed. He was amazed that she actually agreed. Don't blow this Reid. He thought to himself. 

"Yeah." She whispered. 

"Great!" He said, a little louder than he should. "Uh...sorry." He chuckled when she laughed. 

"Don't apologize." She assured him, handing him her car keys. "Ball's in your court, doctor." She said, turning back towards the direction of her car.


	42. Ashes to Dust pt.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You didn't really think I was going to lead up to it and not just give you the rest of the chapter, right?
> 
> I gotchu.

Olivia let him lead the way as he navigated his way through the city in her vehicle. He distracted her with more facts a la Reid. Anything that would just make her laugh, that was his goal for the rest of the evening. 

"Where are we?" She asked, looking out the window at the unfamiliar scenery around them as Spencer parked the car. "Indian?"

"Well..." He answered as they both exited the vehicle. "I've actually never been here before but I... heard it was really great and, I figured... We could try it out together." He shrugged. 

Olivia smiled, "A new adventure. I'm in."

Spencer's smile grew at her obvious pleasure and he reached out to open the door for her.

"Thank you, sir." She said cheekily. 

***

Her laugh rang out in the near-empty restaurant as Spencer regaled her with more and more stories.

"He really did that? You're not exaggerating?" She asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"I promise you. That is exactly how it happened." He insisted with a smile as he held his hands up in defense. 

Olivia chuckled. "Derek Morgan, always a flare for the dramatic." 

At that moment the waiter appeared at their table, "I'm very sorry to interrupt, but we have about twenty minutes until close."

"Oh- it is that late, already?" Olivia asked looking down at her watch. "I'm very sorry. We'll take the check, please."

"It's already been paid for, just giving you both a heads up." The man said before walking away. 

Olivia looked over at Spencer, confused. "Already paid for?" She asked. 

"I...may have taken care of that." He said with a blush. 

She smiled up at him as he stood and held open her jacket. "You didn't have to."

"I know." He smiled, taking a moment to look down at her. "I wanted to. Ready?" 

"Yes." She said, following him out the door.

When he pulled up at her apartment later, he walked around the vehicle and opened the door for her, holding out a hand to help her out. 

"Ever the gentleman." She smiled, looping her arm through his as they walked up to the door.

"Thank you, Spencer." Olivia said softly. "That really was the perfect way to end this...terrible week." 

Reid chuckled, pulling her against him just a little tighter against the night chill. "I'm happy to do it. If only to show my appreciation for everything you do for me." 

"Hey-" She said, turning him towards her. "I already told you, it's not a competition."

"It's not a competition." He confirmed, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, the small move sending shivers down her spine. "But it is reciprocation. There's a difference. And... I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy spending time with you too." 

For a moment she was speechless. No one, no one had ever made such an effort for her before. Something so simple, that warmed her heart and prickled her eyes with tears. "You're a good man, Spencer Reid." Olivia said before stepping up on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Her warm lips lingered against his skin before pulling away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember "This great Indian restaurant that stays open late"? I am a stickler for continuity.


	43. Honor Among Thieves

Olivia was in the FBI gym first thing in the morning. Her head nodded along to the beat flowing from her headphones as she adjusted the weight on the machine before climbing onto the seat. She sat back and gripped the hand supports as her legs took over and extended, lifting the weight with ease. She repeated the extension for a few more reps before she really started to feel the tension in her legs. 

After counting out three more sets of the workout she climbed back out and started to stretch her sore muscles. 

"Dang, girl. 190 pounds. Rough night?" 

She turned around and lowered her headphones when she saw Derek walk into the empty room. 

"What's that?" She asked.

"You must have had a rough night to be pushing a new record like that." He said, nodding at the impressive stack of plates on the machine. 

"Great night actually." Olivia smiled as she reached down to adjust her shoelace. 

"Oh really?" Derek asked, his tone getting playful. "And what did we get up to that put us in such a good mood this morning? A little serotonin rush perhaps?" He smiled. 

"You just keep guessing, Derek. Maybe try out that stack." She said, pointing to her weights before walking towards the change rooms. "It might do you some good." She teased. 

The man laughed as he watched her walk away. "Oh so that's how it's gonna be? Okay, okay." He said as he added a few more plates. 

"See you at the briefing."

***

They sat around the table waiting for Hotch and JJ to arrive. Olivia, Spencer, Penelope and Emily all laughing as Derek told them terrible jokes. 

"Alright, I got one, you ready? How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?" He asked, looking around with a smirk on his face. 

"I'll tell you how many to make me laugh." Penelope cooed in her famous teasing tone, causing Emily to roll her eyes. 

"Ten tickles." 

Collective groans rang out from the ladies, leaving Spencer with his scrunched up expression. "That doesn't even make sense." He declared and shook his head.

"Oh come on, pretty boy, you gotta have fun!"

Emily chuckled and stood up to refill her coffee as Spencer defended, "I am having fun, you're just not funny."

"Oh, I'm not funny?!"

The rest of the room laughed as Emily spotted a familiar face in the bullpen, stepping outside at once to call out, "Mother?"

"Mother?" Olivia repeated, sitting up to try and look out the window from her chair. 

"What's the ambassador doing here?" Spencer asked. 

"Looks like we're about to find out, and from the looks of things...it can't be good." Derek answered as they watched Emily lead her mother and the two other woman with her over to Hotch's office. 

"What should we do?" Olivia asked, looking around at the others. 

"We wait." Derek said. "I'm not putting myself in the middle of that situation until I have to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta lighten the mood.


	44. Honor Among Thieves pt.2

The forensics tech placed the small cooler on the table. The bright yellow biohazard sticker sealed across the top reminding them all what was inside. 

"Where are you taking that?" The young woman demanded as her mother was hysterically crying in Russian.

"We need to process it." The tech confirmed. 

The older woman continued to sob as the ambassador translated. "She wants his wedding ring." She explained. 

"Please." Natalya said, "Let us hold the cooler, it will be here if you need it." She tried.

The tech looked over at Aaron. "Agent, it's fine for now. You can leave it." He said. 

"Yes, sir." she said, handing the cooler to the woman as Spencer approached her. "This note is in Russian." He explained. "I need to know the exact text." 

She looked at him for a moment, "Wire $100,000 to Nadka Bank account, number 155293846729 by tomorrow noon. If you don't- if you don't you'll receive another body piece then and every 6 hours after." 

Olivia raised her eyes at the woman's flat tone as she recited the memorized note. 

"That's it exactly?" Spencer asked. 

"Exactly. I'll never forget it."

"There's no personalization, no salutation? It's not addressed to anyone? Your father's name isn't mentioned specifically?"

"No." She confirmed. 

"That's odd." Olivia pointed out. 

"Most ransom notes are personalized. Frightens the families to know that they've been specifically chosen. Watched for a time." Derek explained when she appeared confused. 

"It doesn't even say not to call the police." JJ noted as Spencer came back around the table to his place beside Olivia. 

"Russian expats don't have the greatest experience with their home government, they tend not to trust officials." Emily added. 

"Well there's another reason they aren't worried. According to the note, they don't plan on contacting them again." Gideon said. "It's completely self-contained. They expect their instructions to be followed."

"We don't have $100,000." Natalya said.

"They seem to think that you do." 

***

Gideon, Morgan and Reid headed to the jet to Baltimore with Natalya to speak to the agent in charge, leaving the women and Aaron back at Quantico with the mother. 

Emily was doing her best to console the mother in Russian while Hotch spoke on the phone. When he hung up, Olivia and Emily joined him. 

"Your mother's got feelers out, she's confident she can get results." He told Emily. 

"Well if anybody can, it's ambassador Prentiss." She smirked. 

"How's she doing?" Olivia asked nodding towards Mrs. Chernus. 

"How would you be?" Emily asked. 

"Right." 

JJ walked up with another woman, "Uh they landed. Agent Cramer is meeting Gideon and Reid at the Chernus house. This is the translator." She said, gesturing to the other woman. "I've already briefed her."

"Will you introduce her to Mrs. Chernus?" Aaron asked. 

"Thank God." Emily sighed as they walked away. "I'm really not very good as Russian." She explained, earning a smirk from the other two. 

Aaron headed back to his office and Emily went to help her mother and Garcia, leaving Olivia by herself. She sat down at her desk and glanced over at the empty one beside her, covered in a mess of books and papers as usual. She smiled, puling out her cell phone and opened up a message. 

'Be careful.' She typed, before putting the phone away and diving back into the case files. 

Hours later everything had turned on its head.

The finger was gone, the ear was gone, the daughter was nowhere to be found and the team was spread out across two cities not knowing what to do next. 

"Garcia just got into the bank account." Emily said, handing Olivia a sheet of paper. "You're never going to believe this."

She scanned it quickly, reading the information on the page. "That woman is a goddamn genius." Olivia murmured, a smile spreading across her face. 

"Don't let Reid hear you say that." Emily smiled.

Olivia looked up at her. "Let's get this to the guys."

"All over it." Emily said, the phone pressed against her ear. "Derek. Someone wired $500,000 into the account ten minutes ago. Lyov Fulenko, it's the mob boss' wife's maiden name. Garcia is trying to get a location. Okay, got it." She hung up. 

"Well?" Olivia asked. 

"They're on it. Let's get them some more information from here."

"Yes ma'am." Olivia said, following her to the roundtable room.

***

Aaron strode from his office, where JJ remained with the mother, who this time was mourning the loss of her daughter. 

"They're on their way back." He said as he joined Emily and Olivia. 

"How did she take it?" Emily asked, watching the mother through the glass windows.

"She's devastated." He confirmed. "But her husband is coming home."

"I can't possibly imagine how she's going to cope with all this. " Olivia sighed. "That's too much for one person to go through in one day. And to find out her daughter was behind it all along." 

"Speaking of daughters... I think there's somewhere I need to be." Emily said, reaching for her bag. "If you'll excuse me." She said quietly before heading out the door. 

"That's new." Olivia said, impressed as they watched Emily head towards the elevators. 

"Good for her." Aaron agreed. "What about you?" He said, eyeing her carefully. 

"What do you mean?"

"What are you going home to at the end of the day?" 

Olivia felt the blush creep across her neck. "Oh, um... No one. Nothing." She said, shrugging her shoulders. 

"You should really change that." He said bluntly. "Try and be happy."

"I am happy." She defended. "I have you, the team. They're my family now. And you all do make me happy. That's all I need."

"Emily... JJ.... Derek... Garcia.... Reid." He said, a slight emphasis on the last name she could only pick up on because she'd known him so long. 

"Yes. All of them." She said pointedly. "They are all my friends, and now my family. So don't worry about me." She said bumping his shoulder, "You're starting to sound like an old grandmother." She smiled. 

"I need to write my reports." She said, earning her an escape from this particular conversation. Olivia hid her face from him as she stepped around the man and left the room. 

She knew he was still watching her from the window with that unreadable expression and kept her back to him until she sat behind her desk and pulled up the file on her computer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there wasn't a lot to add to this episode. It's not my favourite. I'll throw in another chapter to please you all. ;)


	45. Open Season

"Girls night was the best idea." Olivia smiled as she clinked her glass against JJ's and finished the last of her drink. 

"Isn't it?!" Garcia agreed, "If only Em would make her way over here with round two!"

"Yeah, what is she doing over there?"

"Talking to that guy in the suit." Olivia said, pointing over to where the brunette stood near the bar. 

"Seriously, we've been here for like five minutes, that girl is a magnet." Garcia pouted. 

"Yeah, but look at her, broke away from the group, guy saw her alone, felt confident and made his move." JJ said as Olivia nodded. 

"Classic profile. JJ nailed it." 

"Must be serious." Penelope said as they came near the group. 

"Ladies, this is Brad, a real FBI agent." Emily said, exaggerating her voice on the last part as she gestured to the man dressed far too formally for the bar they were in. 

At that moment, as Emily handed out their drinks, it clicked for each of them. 

"Really?" Penelope asked. 

"Really."

"No way." JJ said sarcastically. 

"That's exciting, what's it like at Quan-ti-co?" Penelope asked exaggerating the word with a straight face. 

"It's, uh... quite impressive." The man said in a mock authoritative tone that clearly didn't impress.

"What department are you in?" Olivia asked, fluttering her lashes. 

"That's classified." He responded. 

"Ooh." JJ said, "Must be really tough keeping all those secrets."

"You know, it's a skill like anything else. Carpenters are good at...building stuff, measuring. FBI is good at keeping secrets and, kicking criminal ass."

Olivia and Garcia immediately giggled despite themselves, while Emily echoed, "Wow. Well, somebody's got to do it. Hey, tell me- do you have to carry your gun and badge around everywhere you go?"

"Affirmative."

"Well can we see it?" She asked teasingly.

"See what?"

"Your badge." He hesitated for a second. 

"Please." Penelope pushed. 

"I'm sorry, that's..."

"Classified." The four ladies finished, "Tell me Brad, does it look anything like this?" Emily asked holding up her badge.

"Uh, or, this?" JJ asked pulling hers out of her purse.

"Or maybe this?" Penelope did the same.

"Any recollection?" Olivia asked, holding up her own. 

They waited in silence for a long moment before the famous Brad turned on his heels and walked away, trying to climb out of the hole he dug for himself. 

As he did, the ladies erupted into fits of giggles, feeling pretty happy with their accomplishment. "Criminal ass... It's a tough job." JJ imitated as she reached for her ringing phone. 

"Lady, you are officially in my top 8 and I am so blogging about this later. Clink me." Penelope smiled as she tapped her glass against Emily's. 

"That was intensely satisfying," Olivia joked, "It almost took away the euphoric lack of sleep streak we're currently on." 

"Hey, hey! More drinking, less work!" Garcia said taking a sip.

"Actually, it's more work. Sorry ladies." JJ said as she returned to the table. 

They sighed unhappily as they took one last sip before calling for their cab.

***

Emiliy, JJ, Garcia and Olivia were the last four to arrive in the round table room, and immediately took their regular spots. Olivia sank down into the chair beside Spencer. 

She could feel his eyes on her and turned her gaze towards him.

"You look really nice." He said quietly, keeping his eyes away from the black skinny jeans and tank she wore and the curves they accentuated. She didn't get a chance to reply when JJ began. 

"A year ago, two victims and their vehicles disappeared from Washington State. They were found over 200 miles away in the remote woods of Idaho." 

"Courtney Jacobs, 24, and Shane Everett, 25. Autopsy revealed similar entry and exit wounds through the chest. No bullets were found."

Emily studied the photos. "It looks like they were out there for a long time before they were killed."

"At least six or seven days." JJ confirmed. 

"Then what happened in that week?" Derek asked. 

Garcia held her hand up to stop him, "I don't want to know." She said firmly. 

"Look at the way they're dressed, they didn't voluntarily go into the woods like that." Reid observed from the photos. 

"Neither did the third victim. He was found yesterday with similar wounds, there's still no ID."

"Okay, so, I'm gonna look for missing persons in Washington." Penelope said, waving her fluffy pen in front of her.

"Look everywhere. We don't know where this victim came from. We only know where he ended up."

"They sustained numerous injuries and just kept going." Aaron said as they went through the crime scene photos. 

"Only one thing you run that hard for- your life." Gideon said as Hotch dismissed them. They all stood and gathered their things, Spencer stepping aside to let Olivia first out the door. 

"It was ladies night." She said quietly when he fell back into step with her. 

"What?" He asked, confused.

"The clothes." She explained. "The four of us were out...ladies night." 

"Oh, right."

"Thanks for noticing, though." She smiled as they arrived at their desks.

"How could I not?" He asked seriously. 

"Right. You notice everything." She chuckled, trying to brush off the butterflies in her stomach. 

"That's not what I meant." He said quietly, meeting her eyes. 

For a moment they just stared at one another, neither knowing what to say. They were cut off by Hotch's voice as he walked by with his go-bag. "Wheels up in thirty." He reminded them.

"Yes, sir." Olivia replied, snapping out of her stillness. She cleared her throat and reached for the bag under her desk. 

"We'd better go." She said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a smidge of flirting. Because I can't help it.


	46. Open Season pt.2

The team split up into two groups, Gideon, Derek and Prentiss took the mountain where the victims were found, the others went to Spokane and the police department to begin laying out the case.

"We've got two male and one female victim, all about the same age, but from different socio-economic backgrounds. The onl thing they seem to have in common, is that they were traveling to the same city." Hotch said, looking over the board. 

"And broken bones." Reid pointed out. "There's a hairline fracture in the wrist, a sprained ankle and a broken nose. Also, early autopsy reports show soft, clean tissue damage and deep puncture wounds through the major organs."

"Bullets flare out when they hit the body, it has to be something else." Olivia said, examining the photographs of the wounds. 

"Whatever weapon was used, cut completely through the front of the chest and went right out of the back. It's interesting, given the point of entry that each victim has two wounds."

"And it's always two." Aaron confirmed, as the sheriff stepped through the doorway. 

"Excuse me, Raymond Schaeffer. You must be agent Jareau?" He asked stepping towards JJ.

"Yes, nice to meet you, this is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid and Special Agent Olivia Kallis." JJ introduced, "This is Sheriff Raymond Schaeffer."

"Well I see you're getting settled." He said, shaking Aaron's hand.

"Thank you for the space." 

"Thank you for flying out."

"Um, has Alex Harrison's family been notified yet?" JJ asked. 

"Not yet, uh, parents are divorced, he lived with his father. I was waiting for your unit to arrive." He explained. 

"I'm happy to join you. Hotch I'll let you know what I find." JJ said, turning to their boss.

"Thank you." He replied as he turned back to the case file. 

Later, the Unit Chief's phone rang. "Hold on, I'll put you on speaker." He said placing his phone on the table as he sat down. 

"Go ahead."

"Hunting season officially opens in three days. Does it look like the victim's wounds could be from an arrow?" Gideon asked. 

"Whatever punctured the organs had to be long enough to penetrate the chest and mimic a .22 caliber bullet, so, yeah it's possible." Reid confirmed. 

"I think these victims are being caught, taken into the woods... And hunted." Jason sighed. 

"Like wild animals." Olivia said carefully. "Good god." 

"Time to deliver the profile." Aaron decided. 

***

"We're looking for at least two offenders in good physical condition. They have to be fit to make it through this terrain. This looks like any other partnership, one weak and one strong. " Hotch began.

Olivia took over, "These killers haven't developed any sexual interest in their victims, so they're either developmentally prepubescent..."

"Or they're related. Immediate relatives wouldn't discuss sexual encounters, let alone, perform them in front of each other." Spencer continued, following her lead. "If they are related, they could have an 'us versus them' mentality. Their bond will be unbreakable because that's all they know."

"Most hunters put animals out of their misery. The men we're looking for, they don't show any mercy. They take great pleasure in watching their casualties die a slow death." 

Aaron continued, "Our victims were all healthy, smart adults who survived for days by following their instincts. They found themselves in the middle of nowhere, and they were approached in a way that wasn't threatening, or the offenders waited for a moment of weakness. The perfect time to attack."

"Hunting is their sport. Humans are their targets. Use your instincts, because they will be using theirs." Olivia concluded. 

Shortly after her cell phone rang, "Kallis. We just delivered the profile, you? Okay great. Thanks" She turned to Spencer, "They just finished with the profile too and they're going to start in the woods. Garcia is checking local hunting stores for frequent fliers." 

She noticed Hotch and JJ in a room with another blonde woman. "Who's that?" She asked. 

"Friend of a possible new victim." Spencer explained. "She went out to a job interview in Spokane, never made it there."

"What's her name?" Olivia asked quietly.

"Bobbi Baird." 

"We have to find her." Olivia declared softly, more to herself than to him. 

Spencer reached out and placed a gentle hand on her arm. "We will." 

Olivia placed her hand over his and squeezed softly as she looked up at him and nodded. 

Hotch came up to them, "Garcia has an address for a hunting store, go check it out." He said, handing them the keys. 

"Sure." Spencer said, leading the way. 

***

"Do you keep records to document who buys hunting arrows?" Olivia asked, inspecting some of them on display. 

The shopkeeper shook her head, "After a week we only keep receipts if they pay by credit card."

"You get a lot of repeat business up her?" Reid asked. 

"Every year, people get their ammo and supplies here before heading up to the mountains." She confirmed. 

"Uh, groups of men? Like fathers and sons?" He asked. 

"Sure. Can I ask why this is a police matter?" 

"We're looking for two men, possibly related. You might remember them because one always does all the talking, and the other one would become very uncomfortable if you spoke to him. It would be even worse because you're a woman." Olivia explained. 

"Well, there are these two brothers that have been coming here for years. They got some supplies here a few days ago. " She chuckled, "The younger one's so painfully shy, it's almost sweet. Even after all these years, he still hasn't warmed up to me. Their uncle was a quiet man, he passed away some time ago." She said, holding up a pink slip.

"You find a receipt?" Reid asked. 

"No, they paid in cash." She said, inspecting the document. "I'm pretty sure their name was Mulford...I think their uncle's name was Joe."

"Thank you very much."

"I'll call Garcia." Spencer said, pulling out his phone as they headed back to the SUV. 

"Garcia, I need everything you have on a man names Joseph Mulford."

They climbed into the vehicle as Penelope scoured for information. "Okay, he was arrested for assault and battery...he owned a service station, but it changed hands when he passed away. He gave it to his nephews, Paul and John Mulford."

"I don't have to ask where it's located, do I?" He asked. 

"No, you don't. But since you did, gorgeous grey matter, I'll have you know, I'm pulling it up right now... And the computer says... Whoa."

"What is it?" Olivia asked. 

"The service station, It's located on highway two. "

"Let me guess, close to where the victims went missing?" 

"Bulls-eye."

Olivia cringed, "Too soon, PG. Too soon." She said as she started the vehicle and headed back towards the station.

"It's getting dark, Spence." Olivia observed during the drive. "I wonder how their doing up there." She said, glancing up at the mountains that surrounded them. 

"We've got their names, we're one step closer to catching them." He said, trying to assure her.

"It's not that easy when you're playing manhunter out there in the woods." 

"The rangers won't let them keep looking in the dark. I'm sure they're about to call to send us back to the hotel anyway. You know fresh eyes in the morning are always better. Whether we want to admit it or not." He teased. 

"Coming from the guy who basically lives on coffee. You should try practicing what you preach." 

"I sleep fine." He defended. 

"I don't think 'fine' is exactly the doctor recommended dose."

"And considering only one of us is an actual doctor, I don't think you should be challenging me on it." He said, making her laugh. 

"Playing the doctor card." She shook her head. "Well is that what you'd recommend for me?" She asked.

"God, no. You're cranky when you don't sleep." He said laughing. 

"Hey!" She said, conceding. "I mean- you're right, but still!" 

"I don't know why I'm having trouble sleeping lately." Spencer wondered out loud. "I keep waking up way too early."

"Maybe you just need a distraction." She suggested, before making the mistake of catching the bright blush blooming over his cheeks. "I didn't mean..." She chuckled, her eyes back on the road now. But maybe that was exactly what she meant.

She parked the vehicle at the police station and unbuckled her seat belt, turning towards his serious expression. 

"I do have a pretty good distraction already." He said, his eyes darting over her face, down to her lips and back up. 

"Pretty good?" She whispered quietly.

"For now." He said with a soft smile. "We should let them know we're back."

"Right." Olivia said, clearing her throat and pushing the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two just can't help it with the flirting. I'm not mad.


	47. Open Season pt.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay. One more. I'm feeling generous.

The next morning Olivia found herself waking up rather refreshed and couldn't help but play that conversation over in her mind again. It amazed her how he could be equal parts shy in public, and flirty in private. Not that she minded. Not ever. 

Flirting with Spencer Reid was one of the best parts of her day. She felt normal around him. She felt happy. Nothing was going to burst that bubble, not even the worst of the psychopaths could touch it. That bubble was her happy place, she decided as she got ready that morning. As she finished brushing her teeth, her phone rang. 

"Jason. Good morning." She greeted. 

"Ready to get out of the office?" He asked. 

"Always." 

Later in the hotel lobby Derek passed her a Kevlar vest. "You're joining us on the mountain today?" He asked. 

"As requested." She smiled and strapped it on. She didn't miss the way Spencer's eyes followed every moment of her hands as she adjusted the straps on her vest, and thigh holster. If he couldn't do it himself, he could at least make sure it was done correctly before letting her walk out there. 

The team split up again into their two groups as Aaron gave them their instructions. They climbed into both SUVs, Olivia climbed in behind Emily, glancing back for a moment for a quick smile and a nod towards Spencer, which he returned. 

And then there was that. 

That warm feeling that grew in her chest when he looked at her like that. It was their silent version of a reminder. To be careful, to stay safe. 

Neither of them had ever spoken out loud about it, but it was always implied. 

Be careful. Stay safe. 

***

"Derek." Olivia said, pulling the man over to her side, "You see that?" She said, pointing up ahead.

"Smoke." 

"Call it in." Emily said, as she continued to follow the footprint path with the ranger. 

They continued on for a few hours until Gideon caught up to them. "It could just be a couple campers", the officer said as they approached the make-shift fire. 

"Let's be prepared if it isn't." Jason said, pulling out his side arm. The others followed suit and they entered the clearing. 

"FBI." Derek called out as they swarmed the body there. 

"He's covered in blood." Emily said as they inspected the moaning man. Gideon crouched down to his side. "We gotta get him out of here."

"I'll call for an evac."

"Son, can you hear me? My name's Jason Gideon. We're with the FBI. We're gonna get you out of here." He said to the young man. "Are you here alone?" 

They all turned as the man pointed behind them. Derek and Olivia followed the direction and came across the body of a young woman. Single arrow through the abdomen. Morgan checked for a pulse. "She's gone." He whispered. 

"The other victims were shot in the chest... This... This is one of our unsubs." Olivia said, turning back towards the young man that lay beside Gideon. "He was stabbed."

Jason leaned back over him, "Son, are the men that did this to you still in the woods?" He asked, but the man wouldn't answer him. "We have a team of FBI agents looking for him- it's alright. They got an order to shoot if necessary."

"No, don't-" He exclaimed, choking on his blood. "No, please... Don't shoot him. He's all I have." He pleaded. 

Jason's voice took on a different tone, "Is your brother out there?" He asked. 

The young man just nodded. 

"You need to tell us where he is, before it's too late. Just tell us where he is."

"Half...mile... East."

"Let's go." Emily said, checking the coordinates as she, Derek and Olivia headed deeper into the forest. 

The heard a loud yelling and quickly spread out, hiding themselves amongst the thick trees. Suddenly, Bobbi ran past and hid as well, immediately noticing Emily holding her hand up for her to be quiet. 

An arrow shot by and landed in the trunk of a tree before Derek stepped into the open "Paul Mulford! FBI! Put down your weapon!" He shouted, but the man lined up his sights again, not caring about anything except his final kill shot. 

Olivia took hers, a clean single bullet to the forehead that dropped the man to the ground immediately. Then, the only sound that they could hear, was silence. She lowered her weapon as Derek approached the man and kicked his bow away, reaching down to check for signs of life. 

"He's clean. But he's gone." He announced, turning to Olivia. "Good shot."

She nodded at him, holstering her weapon back down at her thigh. 

"Hotch." Derek said, his phone at his ear. "We're good." He said glancing up at her with a small smile. "Newbie got him."

***

She was the last to board the plane at the end of the day. Tossing her bag into a compartment she gladly accepted the empty seat beside Spencer that he saved for her. 

"Thought you'd want the window." He said handing her the well worn hoodie she had left behind during their arrival.

She smiled and pulled it over her head before leaning back and letting out a heavy sigh. 

"How do you feel?" Spencer asked quietly. The rest of the team was already mostly asleep or soon to be, they had a sliver of privacy where they were.

"I'm tired." She said, "But other than that...weirdly...alright. I think I'm starting to get used to it... is that...bad?"

Reid shook his head. "You're just compartmentalizing. That's okay."

"Am I? Or am I avoiding?" She asked genuinely 

He shook his head. "If you were avoiding, you wouldn't be able to talk to me about it, or actually identify the things you just did."

"I guess that's true. Or maybe you're just easy to talk to." She smiled, leaning her head over to use his shoulder as a pillow. 

Spencer smiled, knowing she couldn't see him. "Go to sleep." He whispered.


	48. Legacy

"How was your lecture this morning?" Olivia asked as Reid sat down at his desk with a coffee. 

"It wasn't my lecture, I was just a guest, but it was great, actually. Linguistics has always been a fascinating subject for me." He said, taking a sip from his mug.

"That's good."

"How was your morning? I did miss our drive in." 

"Me too." She said, a soft smile on her lips. "It's been slow, but gratefully so. Gave me time to get caught up on everything, relax a little."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah- that's pretty much what everyone's doing today. Hotch and Gideon are up in his office watching old Chaplin films, If you can believe that." She chuckled. 

"Charlie Chaplin... You know I've never actually seen any of his films."

"Really? They're lovely. Old school black and white, before the talkies. Slapstick humour at it's finest."

"I'll have to brush up on my film study education."

"Maybe I can help with that." She teased. 

Before he had the chance to respond, Hotch stepped out of the office and called out to the group. "We got a case."

"We got a case." Reid echoed disappointedly under his breath as he followed Olivia up the stairs. 

"You aren't sure whether anyone is in fact missing?" Aaron asked as they walked into the conference room. He was addressing a man in a grey suit that neither recognized. Olivia and Spencer sat side-by-side in their usual spots and began looking over the man's notes. 

"No, I-I am sure. I just can't seem to convince anyone else of it." The man said desperately.

"But there is no official investigation?"

"No." 

"63 people can't be a coincidence." JJ said, cause Olivia to look up in surprise at the number. 

"Reid," Derek asked, "Any stats on the percentages of...um... Well, I don't really know how to phrase the question."

"Homeless who go missing? The very nature of homelessness suggests a lifestyle of fluidity, yet honestly, they're not as transient as you would think. They generally stay in small, well-defined areas based on familiarity and what services are nearby." 

As Spencer explained, Olivia watched carefully as the detective began organizing his notebooks as if they were precious items, yet never taking his eyes off the agent as he spoke. She also noticed that she wasn't the only person in the room taking note. She locked eyes with Hotch, the both of them curious and slightly concerned. 

"So-so you're saying they don't just disappear?" The detective asked, his hands finally stilling for a moment. 

"Not normally. But I mean, that doesn't preclude the possibility."

Garcia began looking for information, "Names, addresses, descriptions. Do- do you have any information that might help us find them again?" She asked. 

"I-I didn't have a need for it at the time." He explained solemnly. 

"Do you have enough to see if they've been reported missing by someone?" Olivia offered. 

"Honestly, I don't know." Garcia replied. 

"I-I ran them all through our computers and came up blank." He explained. 

"Simply being gone isn't a federal issue." Hotch said, flipping through another notebook. 

"We're gonna need an official invitation into your jurisdiction. Gideon said from his spot on the couch. He was disconnected from the conversation, flipping through the newspaper. 

"Official?"

"Police Chief, Chief of Detectives. It has to come down through the chain of command. We have no authority to look into this." Hotch explained. 

"Um, I don't know that I- I can do that." The detective said, immediately starting to gather up his notebooks. 

"Unless we're officially asked, we can't help you."

"Uh... Hotch?" JJ said quietly as she walked up beside him. "There could be 63 victims here." she said, a pleading tone in her voice. 

He looked up at her for a moment, contemplating his decision. "Well I suppose you and I could go back with the detective and talk to his commanders, and try to impress upon them the serious implications." He countered. 

"Thank you." The detective said, clearly relieved. 

"If we get an invitation, we could send for the rest of you." He finished, looking around the room.

"I'll wrap my class up. Let me know if anything changes." Gideon said, collecting his things and heading out the door. 

Hotch did the same, "JJ be ready in 30." He said over his shoulder, several notebooks still in his hand. 

"Agent. Um... Sir!" The detective tried, but he had already left. "He- he took two of my books-"

Emily stood up, "Uh, if you could leave your notebooks with us, we could... Unofficially go over them, and maybe develop some more information." She suggested. 

The man did not like that idea. "How about I show you, uh, which people aren't around anymore, and you can copy down all of the information?" He said, quickly collecting the books. 

"Okay, well you heard agent Hotchner." Derek said, "You've got 30 minutes to brief us on 63 people." 

JJ, Aaron and the detective were flying above the clouds while the remaining members of the team had created mini-profiles on each of the 63 people based on the detective's descriptions. They stood looking over the now-crowded board of information they had created. 

"Damn." Derek said, "That is a lot of people. 

"Homeless men, homeless women, runaways, prostitutes and drug users." Spencer observed. 

"Can all of their disappearances be a coincidence?" Emily asked. 

Olivia shook her head, "There's no way."

"Technically It wouldn't be a coincidence since a number of these people share high-risk traits, which throws the curve off. See the word 'coincidence' implies more-"

"Hey, hey kid. We do not need a vocabulary lesson right now." Derek interrupted, cutting Spencer's thought off. 

"Right, sorry."

"Besides, it's not vocabulary- it's linguistics." Olivia smirked, ducking her head when Spencer's grateful eyes met hers. 

***

"Garcia's got nothing so far." Derek said as he returned, "She's ran those names through everything."

"Why are we doing all this to begin with?" Gideon asked, walking in to the room behind him. 

"We just want to be prepared in case we are called in." Emily said.

"We don't have enough other work to do?" 

"Gideon, he's a house cleaner." Derek said firmly. 

"With 63 potential victims." Spencer added. 

The man sighed, the wheels in his head turning for a moment before he moved around the table and took his seat. "What have you come up with so far?"

They were explaining their findings when Olivia's cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID before answering, "JJ."

The rest of the room went silent as they waited, Olivia's smile appeared, "God- you're brilliant. We're on our way."

The group all stood up immediately as she clicked the phone shut. "He crossed state lines." She announced. 

"It's federal." Spencer concluded. 

"You bet it is. The jet will be back here in an hour." She said as they made their way out of the room to gather their things. 

Later they were back on the ground and walking through the main doors of the police department when they spotted Hotch and the police Captain. 

The tall man pointed to them. "BAU?" he asked. 

"Jason Gideon." Gideon greeted, shaking the man's hand before introducing the rest. "Captain, if you could get your squad together we'd like to deliver the profile."

"Already?" The man asked incredulously. 

"We've been working on it all day." Spencer said.

"Oh have you now?"

"Just working with an abundance of preparedness." He explained. 

"Why don't you give me a few minutes, okay?" The man said before walking away. Hotch stepped up. 

"I'm not sure if he's really okay with this or he's sure we're wrong and wants to see us embarrass ourselves." He said, looking around at the others.

"Well we're here." Olivia said, speaking up. "We might as well do our jobs."

They gave the profile, much to the chagrin of the police Captain, they stressed the partner aspect, knowing his trigger was personal and impactful. 

Afterwards, there wasn't much to do except walk the streets, get as much information as they could from the communities this psychopath was targeting. They spent hours and hours walking around in groups talking to anyone who would listen. They even managed to convince the Captain to join them. The more they spoke to people, met them, the more he was convinced that this was the right thing to do. 

Olivia was walking with Derek and Emily. Smiling as once again Morgan flirted and managed to put a smile on another face. 

"You're a good guy, Derek." Emily said. 

"You think?"

"She's right. You make the people around you feel good." Olivia agreed. 

"Well he's no Charlie Chaplin." Aaron countered as he and Reid neared them. 

"Oh, again with the Chaplain." Derek moaned. 

"How'd you guys do?" Olivia asked. 

"Well Reid got propositioned by every prostitute we talked to, but other than that, we didn't find anybody who thinks they'd seen the unsub." Hotch said casually.

Olivia's eyebrows shot up as she shot a pointed look at Spencer, who just nodded awkwardly in response. 

"Same story with us." Derek said.

"We saw Gideon and McGee a block back, they hadn't had any luck either."

"It's odd- if the unsub were out here, he'd stand out, you know people would recognize the description."

"So where does that leave us?" Emily asked. 

"Right where I thought we were." The Captain replied. "You said this guy would definitely be memorable. You were adamant. So according to you, if no one here remembers him, he doesn't exist." The man said, sticking his hands into his pockets. 

"That's not exactly what we said." JJ defended.

"It's what you implied."

"So what do you think happened to them, captain?" Hotch asked.

"I told you, I don't think anything happened to them."

"Oh that's right, you think they all got houses and jobs."

"Okay, guys- take a step back." Olivia intervened. "All this means, is that there's something we haven't put together yet. They managed to get over 60 street-smart people to disappear with them. That's not easy."

"It's like he blended in." Reid said.

"Okay- good. How do you blend in without being an actual member of the community?" She asked.

"Like he's here all the time." Hotch added. 

"Like social services." Morgan said, putting it all together as he saw movement from down the alley. "Captain Wright? Does your social services department patrol around?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do they drive around in the middle of the night, looking for people to help?"

"No- they have to be dispatched." Derek didn't even wait for him to finish the sentence before he took off down the street, Olivia hot on his heels. 

"Morgan!" Hotch yelled as the team followed. 

"He's gonna drive me to the park." The older woman with the man said. Derek tried making eye contact with him, but he was hiding his face and starting to get back into the van. 

"Step aside, okay?" Olivia told her as she placed her hand on her weapon, following Derek to the driver's door. 

"Hey, how's it going, my man?" He asked.

"I should go." He replied, turning over the engine.

"Hey slow down, what's your hurry?"

"I got a lot of work- I should go." He repeated. 

"Show me your employee ID." Olivia said, her voice taking on an authoritative tone. 

"I don't have time for this."

"There's plenty of time. Show me your ID, now."

In that next second, the man stomped his foot on the gas, surging the vehicle forward, but not before Derek could leap his upper body through the window and grab hold of the steering wheel. 

"Morgan!" Hotch yelled as he and Olivia fought to keep a hold of the man's waist as the vehicle crashed into a nearby car. Aaron pulled him out as the van came to a stop and Olivia pulled the door open, grabbing the man inside by his jacket and pulling him out, Derek used the next second to push him back, face-first into the side door. 

"Alright, alright, don't hurt me." The man pleaded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another episode that isn't my favourite, but has just enough opportunity for character growth that I had to keep it. I'm getting little tired of conforming to the procedural drama outline that each episode has so I'm trying to change things up a bit. Let me know if you have any feedback.


	49. Legacy pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today was such a restful day for me and I wrote soooooo much. So fuck it- you're getting another chapter. And this one has some goo to it.

"So you're like...really strong." Spencer teased, bumping into Olivia's shoulder as she poured herself a cup of coffee. 

She smirked, "I'm really not. It's mostly adrenaline." 

"Did you know adrenaline actually blocks your body's pain receptors from communicating sensations to the brain? It also stabilizes your blood pressure."

"Hmmm... You'd think it would raise blood pressure." She said, that warm feeling growing in her stomach again just listening to him talk. 

"That's the interesting part! It's perceived as part of our fight-or-flight response, but actually, it's super healthy for us to have an adrenaline surge."

Olivia chuckled, and began pouring a second cup for him, adding some sugar before placing it in his hand. She was trying desperately to avoid thinking of a certain kind of adrenaline surge that was currently occupying her thoughts. "Did they start the interrogation yet?" She asked, taking a sip of her own, trying to change the subject back to work. 

"Thanks, Yeah, Hotch and McGee just went in there." He said. 

Olivia found herself staring at him a little too long than necessary. "Did you really get asked out by all those women tonight?" She asked, her voice going quiet. 

He chuckled embarrassed, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Um, yeah, yeah kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Well they weren't really asking me out so much as..."

"Right." She nodded, a slight feeling of jealousy filling her. 

He watched her face change, and observed her conflicted expression. "What's wrong?" He asked, "You okay?"

Her head shot up to meet his eyes, a blush evident on her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm- I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"About the case?"

"Uh...no, actually." She said, keeping her hands busy by fiddling with the stir stick in her drink. "I was thinking...about, um...you." 

"Me?" Spencer asked, surprised. 

"Yeah. It's just...um... You know- put me in a situation with a psychopath or a criminal and I'm this badass special agent, but put me in front of...you... And I revert back to a twelve year old girl with a crush." 

"A...a- crush?" He asked, right as Gideon came up to them, interrupting the moment, "We've got him, let's go."

Olivia immediately placed her cup on the counter and followed, all business once again, with Spencer scrambling behind. Trying, for once too keep up with his thoughts as they swirled about in his head. 

"Charles Holcomb, FBI!" Aaron yelled out as they surrounded the man in the white medical suit. He was covered from heat to toe in PPE, wheeling a young, bloodied woman on a table. 

"Don't do it!" Derek yelled as he lifted a sharp knife to the woman's throat. 

"Just let me do my job!" The man yelled back before several bullets were fired into his body, crumpling him to the ground. 

Aaron and Olivia rushed forward to the woman, checking her vitals. She cried out in relief as their faces came into view. "It's alright, you're okay. Just look at me." Olivia soothed, as they untied her from the table. 

"You're alright, it's over." Aaron echoed. 

"I want to see his face." The woman pleaded. "Show me his face."

Hotch looked over at Olivia and she nodded. On the floor, Morgan removed the man's mask so they could look at one another. 

Immediately the woman laughed in relief. "I won." She sobbed, clinging to Olivia's arms. "I won." 

"Yeah you did." The agent said, gently pushing her hair back from her face. "You're going to be alright."

"Wait- can you have someone check on my baby? My mom's babysitting and I didn't come home last night."

"Of course we will."

***

Later that night, instead of going home right away, the team opted for an impromptu movie night in the round table room. Gideon set up his projector and Garcia had popcorn and snacks waiting for them when they arrived. 

Spencer sat right up front, eager to finally see the works of Charlie Chaplain, but found it difficult to concentrate when Olivia's words were doing a really excellent job of occupying his thoughts. 

The rest of the team joked around, threw popcorn and laughed at the comedy, but to him it was all background noise. 

When the evening was over and they were packing up for the night, she had seemed to all but disappear. Just as he had made up his mind, and practiced the speech in his head a thousand times, she was no where to be found. 

Hoping to beat her to her car, he grabbed his things and rushed out the door. Sure enough he could see her at the other end of the parking lot, throwing her things into the back seat. 

"Liv!" He shouted, getting her attention as he rushed over to her. 

"Are you okay?" She asked, thinking something was wrong. 

He shook his head, slightly out of breath as he looked over her. Her long, wavy hair was blown about in the night breeze and her cheeks were warmed from the cold. The boots she typically wore had been substituted for chucks recently and she appeared slightly shorter to him as a result. But he loved it, he loved every part. 

"You're not the only one." He said, hurriedly. 

"Sorry?"

"You're not the only one... Who feels like that. Who...has a crush." He clarified. "I like you. I like that you don't make me feel like the most awkward person in the room. I like that you pretend that my ranting about random things isn't annoying."

"It's not annoying." She cut in. "I just like listening to you talk, Spence."

"See? That." He said, taking another step towards her. "You make me feel normal...better than normal, actually. I know we already went out for dinner once, and I should have asked you on a date already, like a proper date. In public. And not tonight, obviously because now it's very late and I-"

"Yes." Olivia said smiling up at him. 

"What?" he asked, stopping in his tracks. 

"I'm saying yes. To everything." She chuckled. 

"A date?" He asked, still not convinced. 

"Mmhmm." She nodded happily.

"With me?"

"Especially with you."


	50. No Way Out: Evilution of Frank

It was by sheer stroke of luck that they got off work early. Olivia immediately rushed home to get ready. She had already planned the outfit before she left for work that morning, and now she was deciding whether or not it was the right choice. 

She sighed, looking at the dress as she held it up against herself in the mirror. It wasn't like she could call Penelope, or JJ, or Emily for advice. Then they would be on her case trying to figure out who the date was with. She shook her head at that. Nope. Absolutely not. This was a first date...with her co-worker. Bad idea to get the others involved. 

She checked her watch again, too late to keep contemplating this, she was going with her first choice and that was the end of it. She slipped the dress over her head and reached behind her to zip it up the rest of the way. Then she glanced at herself in the mirror. Okay, so not a bad idea after all. She smirked, eyeing her reflection. 

The dress she chose was black and form fitting around the waist, it had long sleeves and came down to her calves. Perfectly respectable. Not too flashy, but not boring either, and damn she looked good. She paired it with some black heels and a long jacket, they were still in Virginia after all. She fluffed out her long curls and swiped some balm over her lips. She didn't wear makeup often, but she could definitely pull herself together when she wanted to. And tonight- she wanted to. 

The doorbell rang and she let out the deep breath she had been holding, walking over to the front door and pulling it aside. 

"Wow." Spencer said from the other side of the threshold. 

"Hi." She smiled, enjoying the amazed look on his face as he took her in. "Too much?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Perfect." He said quietly. 

She took a step towards him and reached out to his empty collar. "I like you without a tie." She commented, straightening out his jacket. He wore a light blue button down shirt with a jacket, dress pants and his black converse. "You look very nice." 

"Thank you." He smiled. 

"Let me lock the door." She said, before turning around and pulling her keys from her bag.

Once she was done, Spencer reached out and placed a hand on her back, leading the way down to where his car was parked on the street. 

After opening the door for her and walking around to the other side, he started the vehicle. "So, where are we going?" She asked happily.

"Well... I thought about doing a regular dinner again." He said as he drove, "But I wanted to do something a little different, instead."

"What is it?" She pushed, making Spencer chuckle, "You're very impatient."

She laughed, "I know! You might as well tell me."

"How about I just show you instead?" He said, as he pulled into a parking stall and shut off the engine.

He made his way back around to her side and opened the door, holding out a hand for her to take. "Thank you." She smiled and giggled when he placed her hand in the crook of his elbow to walk down the sidewalk together. When they turned the corner Olivia gasped at all the bright lights and people milling about. 

"Is this... A night market?" She asked, looking around at everything.

"Yes it is. I thought it might be fun..." He said, carefully. 

Olivia turned to him and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love it." She smiled happily, "This was a great idea."

Her spirit immediately lifted his mood and chased away any hesitation he had about tonight. 

They spent quite a bit of time going through the vendors of old books, each flipping through dozens of copies before they moved onto dinner. 

"Hungry?" He asked. 

"Definitely." She replied looking at the menus, "What do you feel like?"

"Whichever one of these food trucks is actually using gloves..." He replied, looking suspiciously at the pizza stand. 

Olivia laughed and pulled him away, "Okay, deal. No germs for tonight." she said. "Chinese?"

Spencer made a face, "What?" She asked, causing him to blush. "Chopsticks." He murmured, making her chuckle. 

"One of these days, you will learn, Spencer." She teased. 

"People get a little judgy when you ask for a fork." He defended, earning him another smile that rendered him breathless. 

"Fine, what about... Ooh! Tacos!" She said excitedly.

Spencer nodded, "I can do tacos.". 

"Excellent!" She exclaimed, quickly finding a place in line. "What are you going to order?" She asked as they neared the front. 

"Hmm... Chicken I think. You?"

"Fish."

He smirked, "Stereotype."

Olivia laughed, "Yes I am, and I will not apologize for it." 

"Next!"

Together they stepped up to the window and placed their order, Spencer being very quick about handing the cash over to the woman behind the counter before Olivia could ever reach for her wallet.

"Thank you." She murmured as they walked over to a nearby bench to eat. 

"You're welcome."

"You going to let me pay next time?" She asked.

Spencer shrugged his shoulders, "Probably not." He said, taking a bight out of his food. He was in such a rush to start that he left a smear of sauce behind on his cheek. 

Olivia laughed, "And that right there, is karma." She declared, reaching for a napkin to gently clean the mess off of his face. They sat in silence for a while, both of them enjoying their meal and people watching from their spot on the bench. When they were finished, Olivia took their trays and set them both aside, pulling his arm around her shoulders so she could snuggle into his side. 

"This has been... The best night." She said, wrapping her own arms around his waist. 

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Thank you, Spencer."

"You want to go for a walk?" He asked.

Olivia looked up at him, "I'm a little chilly." She admitted. 

"That's okay." Spencer said, standing, he reached out and took her hands, pulling her to her feet in front of him. "We just do this..." He murmured, pulling her jacket closer around her and tightening the belt. "And this." He said, undoing his own jacket. 

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked. 

He reached out and took hold of her arms, wrapping them around him again, under his jacket this time, and throwing one arm over her shoulders, pulling her close. She could immediately feel his body heat warming her and sighed happily. 

"Better?" He asked, tucking a curl behind her ear. 

"Better." She agreed, feeling that familiar warmth in her stomach once again, and goosebumps running down her arms. Maybe she wouldn't mind a walk after all. 

Together, they slowly made their way down the rest of the street, perusing the vendors as they walked by, Spencer's hold on her firm and protective the entire time. Eventually they were interrupted by both of their phones going off at once. 

"That's never good." Olivia said as they pulled apart. 

"No it's not." Spencer agreed, looking down at her with disappointment. He glanced at the caller ID. "It's work, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Tonight was perfect." She assured him. 

"No- I wanted..." 

"What?" She asked gently.

"I just..." He trailed off, with one last glance at her lips. "I wanted..." 

She smiled softly, and with a deep breath, she reached forward and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down towards her and sealing her lips over his. 

He responded immediately, his hands finding her waist to steady them both as they breathed into the gentle kiss. He brought one hand up after a moment to cup her cheek, his thumb caressing the soft skin there before they separated. 

"Me too." She whispered as he rested his forehead against hers with a deep chuckle. 

Their phones immediately began ringing again, startling them both. "Okay- now we really have to go." She smiled. 

"Yeah." He nodded, reaching for her hand as they made their way back to the car. 

***

They were called to an address in the middle of the city, 181 Arthur Street. Spencer looked around confused at the area. "I know this place." He mumbled. 

"You do?" Olivia asked. 

"It's Gideon's apartment."

They met up with the rest of the team in the stairwell. Derek making a bee-line for Aaron as soon as they were in the room. "Hotch?"

"It's Gideon." The man replied, "I called his cell, it's right there on the table." He said gesturing. 

"PD thinks he did this?" Morgan asked. 

"They have six witnesses who saw him running down the street covered in blood and wielding a gun." Aaron said in a hushed voice. 

"He was probably chasing the son of a bitch who did do this." 

"Either way we're under strict orders not to get in the way of this investigation. Gideon is a suspect. We're his colleagues."

"Conflict of interest." JJ supplied, "There's no way they'll let us help."

"Which, he needs badly right now." Hotch agreed. 

"Who spoke to him last?" Olivia asked. 

"I did, about two hours ago." Aaron answered. 

"What did he say?" Spencer asked. 

"He said he was late for a date."

"Do we even know who she is?" Derek asked.

"An old school friend. We're conflicted out of the investigation. We're just here to answer questions the MPD might have. So we need to asses what we can while we can. "

"Evisceration of the torso, removal of various organs. The guy's clearly a sexually sadistic psychopath." Spencer spouted off clinically. 

"He's well-versed with a scalpel. He's done this before. " Emily added. "We need to at least get photos. 

"JJ, Olivia. With your cell phones, get as many as you can as quick as you can. Get them to Garcia." Hotch ordered. 

The women nodded and headed off to opposite ends of the apartment to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah- there's nothing like *perfect* timing. Let me know what you think!


	51. No Way Out: Evilution of Frank pt.2

The team stood outside on the sidewalk as MPD loaded evidence away. 

"Gideon saw Jane just before Frank called him. If we find her, we'll find Frank."

"Last time we found Frank, he outsmarted us." Emily countered. "He took a busload of children hostage."

"Frank's message- he said, 'I'll kill them all'. Who is he referring to?" Spencer asked. 

Emily's cell rang and she put it on speaker. "JJ?"

"Yeah, Gideon had a book, a black, leather-bound book. Garcia found something... It looks like the first page has been ripped out."

"It's his murder book." Aaron sighed. "When he opens it to the first page, it reminds him why he does what he does."

"It's a list of all the people he's ever saved. Names, dates, personal details." Reid added. 

"And now Frank has the list. JJ start locating all the possible targets, we need to call them and warn them."

Everyone had moved into the round table room, pouring over files as JJ called every member of the list. 

"Rebecca Bryant? Hello this is agent Jennifer Jareau with the FBI."

"He's not agent Gideon, is he?"

The young woman's voice stopped all movement in the room. "Excuse me?" JJ asked. 

"Rebecca, this is Agent Hotchner, if you can, very calmly I need you to excuse yourself and get out of the house." He instructed. "Can you do that?"

They heard loud clattering on the other end and everyone held their breath. "I regret to inform you that Rebecca's name should be moved to a...new list." Frank's voice said over the speaker. 

"Frank," Aaron said, "We do not have her. We don't have Jane."

"I will not stop until I have her back." They all heard the click of the tone dying off. 

***

"Who was she?" Olivia asked as they stood in Rebecca's apartment. The young woman's blood was covering virtually every surface. 

"It was a case we had a few months before you joined the team. Her father was mentally unstable and held her hostage." Derek explained. "Reid was the one that saved her before the whole building blew up."

She turned towards the man and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry." She whispered. 

"Nothing could have stopped this." Derek said quietly.

"Guys." Emily said, moving towards Rebecca's hand. She was holding a piece of paper that Emily carefully withdrew. 

"It's from Frank." She said, "7am Union Station?" 

"All the other targets on that list are safe and accounted for." Spencer said, confused. 

"We must have missed someone... Or something... He's upped the stakes." Aaron said.

"He's gonna make it impossible for us not to trade Jane for... Whatever he's got." Derek said. "He takes what other people hold sacred..."

"Children." Olivia said. 

Aaron's cell rang in the quiet room, he flipped it open, "Hotch."

"Tracy Bell and her family relocated to Mclaine, Virginia 8 months ago." JJ said through the speaker. "It's her, Hotch. She's the only one who's not accounted for."

***

Olivia sat inside the interrogation room while Jane fidgeted with her cigarette and paced about the room. "Did I do the right thing by coming here?" She asked. 

"Yes." Olivia nodded, "You did the right thing. Please, sit down." She said, gesturing to the chair opposite her.

Spencer walked in holding a brown paper bag. "Is that mine?" Jane asked reaching for it.

"Yes it is." He answered, "Here you go." They watched as Jane held it close to her body, protecting it. 

"Frank hasn't hurt anyone, has he?" She asked. "He wouldn't do that. Not while he has me."

"But he doesn't have you, Jane. You're here with us." Olivia explained. 

Jane slowly pulled out the chair and sat down. "He came after agent Gideon." She said. 

Olivia leaned forward, "Why did you leave Frank? What changed?"

A long pause settled in the room before she replied, "He did. Frank changed. He changed just like agent Gideon said. And... He was so angry with him... Because...he was right. He knows Frank better than anyone else- and Frank knows that too."

"Frank wants agent Gideon to stop him, doesn't he?" Spencer asked. 

"Well if anyone can. Agent Gideon can."

"Can you tell me more about Frank?" Olivia asked, "Where's he from?"

"Manhattan."

"Manhattan, are you sure?" Spencer asked confused.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Jane said as she reached for another cigarette. "He talked about it all the time. He told me about where he lived, where he grew up, everything- he wanted me to know everything." She smiled.

"Did he ever say where in Manhattan?" Spencer asked. 

"He lived with his mother. She was German, Breitfopf. Mary Breitkopf. He never knew his father..."

"So, he uses his mother's name?" Olivia clarified. Jane nodded. "And she would take him, every Sunday, to the fair in Long Island. He talked about her constantly. And they would have dinner parties, and Frank would dress up, and he would be the barman... And he would serve all the guests... Cocktails..."

She lit another cigarette and faced Olivia properly, "Being on the run... Can be very romantic, you know?"

"Did Frank try to kill anyone else?" She asked. 

Jane looked down at her hands for a moment and back up at Olivia. "Is it wrong?" She asked.

"Is what wrong?"

"Loving Frank?"

"You don't...choose who you fall in love with, not all the time." Olivia replied 

"Maybe, you thought you could change him." Spencer said quietly, "And you did, for a time."

"Yes."

"Until the desire to kill, over time, overwhelmed him. And you saw that, didn't you Jane? You saw it in him?"

The woman nodded meekly. 

"Who was it, Jane?" Olivia asked, "Who did he try to kill?"

"Me." She whispered. "But he stopped himself. We had an argument, and I screamed at him...and I said that Gideon was right. And he became so angry...and I had to run here. But...as long as he's trying to find me- he won't kill again."

"He already has." Spencer said bluntly. "And he's not going to stop until he gets you back." Olivia added.


	52. No Way Out: Evilution of Frank pt.3

Aaron, Derek, Olivia and Emily were spread out inside the train station as SWAT ran through clearing everything room by room.

"Anybody got eyes on the target?" Derek asked through his earpiece. 

"Nothing." Hotch answered. 

"Negative." Olivia confirmed. Her eyes scanned the crowd of people around her, hand never leaving her holster.

"12:00, platform 11. Target. Target in sight. I have eyes on the target, clear shot." One of the SWAT snipers, came through on the frequency, and Olivia sprang into motion, she ran up the platform stairs two at a time, and stepped onto the level just 10 feet to the left of Derek and Directly in front of Emily and Hotch. 

She withdrew her weapon, and pointed it directly at Frank. 

"Hold your fire, I repeat, hold your fire, there are civilians on the platform." Aaron's voice came through. When Derek saw that you had a lock on him, he turned away and immediately began ushering people away from the scene. "Let's go. Go! Back up all of you back up. I need you out of here."

Olivia never flinched, she didn't move, she barely breathed as she watched Aaron approach the man sitting on the bench. "Frank." 

"Agent Hotchner. We haven't had the pleasure of a...formal meeting."

"Where's Tracy Bell?"

"Do you have something for me?" The man asked calmly.

"No, I don't."

"Then you'll never see her again."

Aaron sighed, giving in. He raised his wrist to whisper into the microphone. "Go ahead and bring her in."

A moment later, Emily stepped onto the platform with Jane beside her. When Frank locked eyes on her, he immediately stood. "Jane." He said quietly. 

"Where's Tracy, Frank?" Aaron asked again. 

"Did you think I wouldn't come looking for you?" He asked, ignoring the agent in front of him. "You killed two innocent women." Jane protested. 

"Without you, I am lost." he replied. 

"Tracy Bell, Frank." Emily reminded him. 

"Not until we're safely away."

"Stop it, Frank. I'm not coming." Jane cried. 

"It's you and me. Forever. I will never be taken by these...people. And without you, I will not stop. Not ever." He said, reaching out to her. 

Gideon stepped in his way, his weapon pointed squarely at the man. "Sara was a doctor. She was a mother of three boys. She worked, and ran a treatment centre for patients with terminal cancer. She dedicated her life, to easing the pain of others. You took the lives of hundreds, all because your mother was a whore."

Frank's countenance changed immediately. "You're not a rare bird, Frank. There's nothing special about you. Common, pedestrian, boring."

Frank reached out again, "Jane, this world. We don't fit in it." He said calmly. "No one understands what we are. Have you ever been happier than when you've been with me?"

"Never."

"Didn't we have fun?"

"So much." She replied stepping towards him. 

"Come with me now. It doesn't have to end here."

"Jane!" Gideon cried as she stepped into his arms and they declared their love for each other. The humming or a nearby train began to roar as they stepped towards the edge of the platform together. 

The team cried out to try and stop them as he pulled her over the edge with him, and directly in the crosshairs of the approaching train. 

Olivia turned her head away at the crunch of contact. They could hear the snapping of human bone as it collided with the cold steel of the vehicle. 

Moments later her cell phone rang. She walked away pulling it from her pocket. "Hey."

"You okay?" Spencer's voice asked. 

"Did you find her?" She asked. 

"We did."

"Then I'm okay." She sighed. 

"Did you catch him?" He asked, carefully. 

"They're gone." She said quietly. "I'll um...I'll see you back at the office, okay?"

"Okay."

***

When she arrived, Olivia was met with laughter. Derek has tossed Reid a baseball to catch him off guard, but Spencer caught it square in his hand, much to his own surprise and delight. The group laughed loudly then, when Emily poked him in the ribs as she passed by, causing him to drop not only the ball, but the coffee cup he was holding in the other hand. 

She chuckled and made her way towards the group, wrapping her arms around Penelope who came flying directly into her. She chuckled into the bone-crushing hug and met Spencer's eyes over her head. 

"Drinks? Anyone?" Garcia asked, looking around the group.

Olivia sighed, "It's been such a long night. I'm honestly quite afraid I'll crash."

"I second that." JJ said, pointing at them.

"Tomorrow, then?" Penelope asked hopefully. Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement. 

"Tomorrow." Olivia agreed. 

Later, Spencer walked her up to her apartment. "You didn't have to drive me home." She said, turning to face him. 

"I had to walk my date back to her door, didn't I?" He asked with a smile.

Olivia chuckled, "It is quite gentlemanly of you."

"It's been a long day, I wanted to make sure you got home in one piece."

"Longest first date ever." She teased. "But still...one of the best."

"Only one of the best?" Spencer asked, taking a step towards her. His expression was less playful now and more...intense. It sent shivers of goosebumps down her arms. 

"I mean, there is always room for improvement." She smiled, taking a risk and reaching up to place her hands on his chest, caressing the soft fabric there. He was so close she could smell the warm, clean smell of him enveloping her senses. 

She looked up into his eyes, the bright blue she was used to seeing was darker now. He raised a hand to her cheek, his thumb softly caressing her jaw, causing her eyes to flutter shut. She felt butterflies battling about in her stomach as he pressed his lips to hers once more. 

Olivia felt herself sigh as her hands fisted the fabric of his shirt. His other hand wrapped around her back to pull her closer as they deepened the kiss. 

It was far too short, but eventually Spencer pulled back, his gaze burning into hers. Olivia smiled up at him, "See now that. That made it perfect."


	53. In Name and Blood

The case had been very difficult. The profile was right, but there was nothing they could do to stop the unsub until...until it was too late. A troubled young woman took her own life and his in the process. There was no satisfaction, no closure. Just more senseless tragedy. 

On top of all that. No one could read Gideon, and Emily had been avoiding them all day, despite all Olivia's attempts to break through her defenses.

And now, to top everything off, at the end of the day Strauss suspended Aaron, and then Gideon all but disappeared. Olivia tried to settle moods around her but in the end, she was at a loss of what to do. Everything was snowballing around them. 

She walked into the office the next day to see the light on in Gideon's office. Carefully, she made her way up the stairs to find Spencer asleep in one of the chairs. 

Gently she reached out and shook him awake. "Good morning." She whispered as he finally came to. "Now I understand why I couldn't get a hold of you last night." She said softly. 

He checked his watch, seeing the early morning hour. "Gideon didn't answer his phone." He explained. 

Olivia handed him her cup of coffee. "I think you could use this more than me." 

"Thanks." He said taking a sip. "I called him twice, we were supposed to play chess. "

"You were supposed to play...here?" She asked.

"Yeah, he hasn't been back to his apartment since..."

"Right." She nodded. She was about to pull back and stand up when Spencer reached out and took her hand. His thumb running over the soft skin of her wrist. 

"Have you been okay?" She asked softly. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay." He nodded. 

"Scale of one to ten?"

He chuckled, "About a five." 

"Okay. JJ is going to start the briefing soon. You should...change your shirt." 

"Yeah that's probably a good idea." He agreed, standing. "Is Hotch here?" 

Olivia shook her head. "Not yet. Probably soon though."

***

Derek walked into the roundtable room and looked around. "What, no Hotch, now no Gideon?"

"No, not yet." JJ sighed as she took her seat. 

"You'd think, the least they could do is be on time."

Spencer smirked, "Yeah, cause you're never late." He shot back.

Derek chuckled, "So where's Prentiss?" 

"Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail." Olivia shrugged. 

"Well this room just keeps getting smaller and smaller, doesn't it?"

"Should we wait 15 minutes?" Spencer asked, looking at his watch.

JJ shook her head, "We can just brief them on the plane. Right now the police taskforce in Milwaukee needs our help." She said, gesturing to the file. 

"They've had four murders over the past three weeks, and in addition, another woman has been missing the last two days. They've all been women in their 30's, married with children. "

"Any connection?" Derek asked. 

"Just that they've all been abducted from the area of Wauwatosa, all from very public places, but there's no witnesses."

"And we know it's the same killer?" Olivia asked. 

"Well, all the bodies were dumped in the third ward, and... All the hearts have been cut from their bodies."

"Yeah, that'll do it." Olivia remarked, sorry she asked. 

They were in the bullpen grabbing their things from their desks when Olivia caught Hotch enter the office from the corner of her eye.

"Aaron." She started, but he ignored her and kept walking straight to his office, where she could see Section Chief Strauss waiting for him. 

"Derek, what's going on?" She asked as the man neared them.

"He's requesting a transfer." He said coldly. 

"He's what?" She said, confusion written all over her face. "Why? His suspension is over." 

"He doesn't see the point in fighting her. She wants him gone and he knows it." 

"That's not a good enough reason." Spencer said. 

"Damn right it's not. As long as I've known him, that man has never backed down from a fight. Ever." Olivia protested. 

"Emily." Spencer said as he saw the woman pass them by. Olivia spun around and met the agent's apologetic face. She followed the path Hotch had taken to his office as they watched. She was close enough to the door that they could hear her perfectly clear. 

"Sir, I've decided to resign from the FBI, effective immediately."

"What?" Olivia gasped. "What is going on?" She asked out loud. 

"I have no goddamn idea." Derek said, not looking away. 

As Emily left the office and passed them, she sent them a soft smile, and continued on her way. Erin Strauss was the next person to leave the office, turning towards them she said shortly, "Please be on the jet in the next 45 minutes." 

The three agents stood silently as she left without another word. 

"Oh this isn't good."


	54. In Name and Blood pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because this is mostly procedural, I thought you guys deserved an extra long chapter. I'll post two today to finish off this episode.

"You know, from this angle...she almost looks human." JJ muttered. The four of them sat together on the jet while Strauss sat on her own, going over the file. Spencer tried turning to look over his shoulder when Olivia nudged him in the ribs. "Ow." He hissed as Derek chuckled. 

"The sooner we get through this, the sooner we all go home, okay? Let's not make it...a thing." She said quietly. 

"Has anyone spoken to Emily yet?" Spencer asked quietly.

JJ shook her head. "She was gone before I heard the news."

"Now we're down two agents, and Gideon's MIA." Derek said, shaking his head at the section chief approached. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's protocol to brief everyone before we arrive at the crime scene?" She asked. 

"Yes, ma'am." JJ agreed, smiling tightly. 

Strauss took a seat opposite them and nodded.

"This unsub is abducting women from very public places with no witnesses. He holds them 48 hours, without sexual assault, and then he dumps their bodies with their hearts carved out of their chests." JJ said, turning to Derek who placed a crime scene photo in front of the woman. 

"There's an obvious dichotomy in the skill the unsub exhibits in abducting these women. And the fact that he cuts their hearts out so crudely." Spencer began. 

"We're probably looking for someone in a psychotic break." Derek clarified, his hard stare, never leaving the woman. "Could be a butcher, might be a hunter. Somebody who's very comfortable being around blood, but...as you can see he obviously doesn't have the skills of a surgeon." He said, gesturing to the photo Strauss has already placed face down on the table. 

"So do we have a working theory?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sure we do." Derek chuckled, his cold expression meeting hers dead on. "Somebody really doesn't like women." He said, before standing up and leaving. 

***

Once they were on the ground Derek drove them to the crime scene without a word. As they approached the area the detective on the case reached out to him. "FBI?" he asked, shaking his hand.

"Derek Morgan." He introduced, turning to face the rest of the team. "Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, Olivia Kallis and Section Chief Strauss."

"Vic Wolynski, Milwaukee PD." The man responded before Spencer interrupted. 

"You worked the Jeffrey Dahmer case." He said with an impressed look. 

The man nodded, "Sixteen years ago."

"I've studied it."

"And you remember my name?" The man asked, confused.

"He remembers everything." JJ smiled. "It's what he does." Derek added. 

"Look- what can you tell us?" Erin interrupted, crossing her arms in front of her stiffly. 

The detective looked over at her, the surprise on his face quickly melting away as he flipped through his notebook, "Uh, local merchant noticed her a few hours ago." He said gesturing towards the body. "But considering he didn't see her when he first came to work, we figure she was dumped there between 7:50 and 8:05. Same window as the others. 

"All the bodies were found in this area, right?" Derek asked. 

"Uh, Wauwatosa is an upper-middle-class suburb. Approximately 15 minutes from here. All the women were abducted from there in the afternoon and turned up here in the morning, two days later."

"All this foot traffic and no one saw anything." JJ mused, looking around. "What can you tell us about the victim?"

"She was taken from a supermarket. Her husband says that most days she would have been picking up her son at school, but he was spending the afternoon at a friends."

"This is your fifth victim, right?" Strauss demanded. Olivia and JJ made eye contact as Derek tilted his head up at the tone of her voice. 

"Yes." The detective said solemnly.

"You should have called us sooner." 

"I thought we had a handle on it-"

"Apparently not." 

"Ma'am." JJ said, jumping in to diffuse the situation. "Excuse us." She said, pulling her superior to the side, as the team watched carefully, turning away and doing their best not to appear interested in the conversation. 

"Oh now how did we know this was going to happen?" Derek murmured quietly as his phone rang. "It's Hotch." He said, looking down at the screen. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes later, Morgan walked back. "How is he?" Olivia asked.

Derek shot her a look. "He's got an idea for us to check out. All the bodies were dumped in conjunction with a school schedule. Before and after drop off, that kind of thing."

Spencer nodded, "It does make sense. Especially if the unsub is already out. Perfect time to dump the body. Although he would be cutting it a little close." 

"Excuse me, Detective?" Olivia asked turning towards the man in charge of the crime scene. "We'd like to get set up at the station now if that's alright?"

"Of course." The man answered, "You can follow me."

On the way to their vehicles Spencer stepped back and tried making a call. When he didn't receive an answer he snapped his cell shut in frustration. 

"Nothing?" Olivia asked when he approached.

"Something's wrong." He said simply looking down at her. 

"He'll say something when he's ready." She said, she reached out and squeezed his arm, careful not to do anything else while the section chief was nearby. 

***

Within one minute of walking through the station door an officer approached the detective. "Sir, we have another one."

"What do you got?" The detective asked as the FBI agents gathered around. 

"Woman's name is Clair Thompson. Husband tried to reach her on the cell phone. When she didn't pick up, he drove over to the department store. Her car's in the parking lot, but she's not inside." The man sighed. 

"Is that the husband?" Olivia asked, looking over at a middle aged man with a lost expression on his face sitting nearby.

"Yes, ma'am."

"JJ." Derek instructed, "Take Strauss with you and figure out what else he knows."

"You got it."

"I had the department store upload the footage to your analyst in Quantico." The Officer added. 

"That's perfect, thank you."

"My desk is over here." The detective said, leading them away as Derek speed dialed Garcia. Garcia, Baby Girl, please tell me something I want to hear." He greeted. "How about something I don't already know?" He asked a moment later, causing Spencer and Olivia to simultaneously roll their eyes at one another.

"Did you locate the missing girl on the security footage?" He asked. "I got it." He said as the footage appeared on the detective's screen.

All three of the agents leaned forward to try and get a closer look as JJ and Strauss returned. 

"She doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar..." Spencer mused as they watched the woman move about the store. 

"Okay, who's the kid?" Derek asked as a young boy came into frame. 

"Does she have a son?" The detective asked. 

"No, two year old daughter." JJ confirmed. 

"That means..." Olivia muttered. 

"Garcia, is that all you got?" Derek asked into the speakerphone. 

"That's it, they disappear into a place without any security cameras." The analyst confirmed. 

"I'll get a list of missing kids." The Detective said, "See if we can make out a resemblance to any of them."

"It's not a missing kid." Olivia said, rubbing her forehead. "You won't find anything."

Why not?" Strauss asked. 

"It's exactly like Hotch said." Spencer said looking at Olivia, completely missing the look Erin's face made at that statement. "All the kidnappings and disposals happened around the district's school timetable. His son is the ruse."

"And he's using him to murder these women." Olivia finished. 

Derek and Spencer delivered the profile to the officers while JJ, Strauss and Olivia worked on the specific aspects of the case. Olivia managed to slip away long enough to dial Hotch at home. 

Hailey was the one that picked up. "Olivia?" She asked. 

"I'm sorry to call at home. I need him." She said simply. She heard the woman sigh heavily on the other end and hand off the phone without another word. 

"Hello?"

"You know I wouldn't be calling unless it was important." She said. 

"Still no Gideon?" He asked. "No, Spencer's starting to really worry, and Strauss...well, I'm sure you can guess." She let out a sigh. "We need you here, Aaron."

"Olivia, I've already put in for the transfer. It's a done deal."

"No, you haven't. Not yet."

"What are you talking about?" He asked. 

"A little birdie told me it's not in the system yet. And I checked. Technically you're away without leave. Don't make me write you up, Hotch." She teased and after a few long minutes of silence her voice went serious again, "We think he's using his own kid to lure these women away. He just kidnapped another this afternoon."

She waited for a long pause before he responded. "I need to think." He said before hanging up.

Later, when they returned the team sat around the conference room wracking their minds for any other leads. "I have triple patrol in the area and I've got every available unit recanvassing." The detective said. 

"It's tough knowing they're out there and we're one step behind." Derek said, looking at the map. 

The man sighed and went to sit down. "You know, it used to be a running joke that if you told people you were from Milwaukee, all they wanted to talk about was Happy Days reruns. And then Dahmer happens and they ask you about it instead, as if it's the same thing. As if it's entertainment. But I was in that apartment."

"Gideon, one of our bosses, says that there are thing that attach to you that...you can never wash off." Spencer said, going quiet at his own understanding of what he'd just said. 

"Is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" JJ asked, looking up from her work.

"What do you mean?" Strauss asked. 

"Well, we're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys hell me, but...if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?"

"That's a really good point." Olivia said as Strauss leaned forward, "Can your analyst get a list of children in the area that you're targeting?" 

"Garcia can get you anything you want." Derek said, approvingly. The woman nodded, and punched in a number to the speakerphone. 

The line clicked on and her sensual voice filled the room, "Talk dirty to me."

The sheer look of surprise on Strauss' face would have caused the whole room to burst into laughter if they weren't mortified. Olivia's jaw dropped and she made quick to cover it with her mouth and turn her face away from Spencer who broke out into a deep blush. Derek struggled to say...and then not say anything, settling into an embarrassed groan and JJ leaned back into her seat, enjoying the moment. 

"This is section chief Erin Strauss." 

"Ma'am. I think it goes without saying that I was expecting it to be someone else." Garcia's voice corrected immediately. 

"Ah yes, but whom?" Spencer muttered, causing Olivia to snort quietly.

Derek let his head drop forward as Erin continued, "I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa." 

Morgan was trying so hard to avoid the gaze of everyone in the room at this point as Garcia clicked away on her keyboard. 

"Yes ma'am. The third ward has one public grade school, but there appears to be four private schools that draw from that area."

"And Wauwatosa?"

"That would be nine, ma'am."

"And how many students?"

"3,200."

"Can you also get me a list of every guidance counsellor that deals with the student population in that area?"

"Certainly, ma'am, and again, I'd like to ap-" Garcia again tried to apologize but was cut off when Strauss ended the call abruptly. 

The section chief turned to the group. "You need to present these counselors with a profile of a troubled kid." She said before picking up her things and leaving the room. 

The room was silent until Olivia cleared her throat and in a deep exaggerated voice said, "Garcia can get you whatever you want."

Everyone broke into laughter at that and Derek moaned covering his face with his hands. "Oh, my God."

The team disbanded into small groups and dispersed themselves throughout all the schools on the list. When they arrived back at the police station they got straight back to work. 

Alright, the boy doesn't look like he could be any older than seven." Derek said, setting several files on the table that Olivia immediately picked up and began flipping through. "Let's work youngest to oldest and start with the worst behaviour. Get the names of the parents, send them over to Garcia, she can crosscheck for criminal records. This guy's been dumping bodies between 7:30 and 8:00, that gives us... A little over twelve hours to make something hit. Let's get it done."

"Look who's here!" Spencer said happily when Emily and Aaron entered the room."

"It's about time, you two." Olivia added with a smile as they ignored the incredulous look from their section chief and took their seats.

"Where do we start?" Emily asked taking her seat next to Olivia and bumping her shoulder against hers. 

"How fast can you get us up to speed?" Hotch asked shaking Derek's hand. 

"How fast can you sit down?" JJ retorted. 

Several hours later they had gone through almost every single file with no child that directly matched the profile, they worked through the night until the early hours of the morning when they received word that the body of Claire Thompson had been found.


	55. In Name and Blood pt.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised. Plus a good look into Olivia in this one. She just can't help but care about everyone.

They approached the crime scene with Strauss leading the way, determined to prove to Hotch who the leader of this team really was, despite his presence. She made a move to step closer to the body when her shoe caught of a piece of the chain link fence, causing her to slide forwards and almost fall on top of the body if it weren't for Hotch's grasp that held her back. 

"Are you alright?" He asked as she took in a shaky breath. 

"I st- I stepped on her hair." She said, immediately taken over by the emotions and exhaustion of it all. 

"Here, come with me." Olivia said, stepping forward to grasp hold of the woman's arm. "If you need a second, take a second. This is what it is. Just don't let the public see you break down." Hotch said, before turning the section chief into Olivia's sturdy hold. 

"Come on." She said quietly, keeping her grasp on the woman firm but subtly as she led her back to the SUVs. She pulled open the door and helped her up onto the seat before heading to the trunk and pulling out her go bag. 

Olivia climbed into the seat opposite her and reached for her wrist. "Try not to touch anything." She said quietly, reaching into her back for a container of wipes. Strauss looked down at her arm and saw the swiped of blood that had transferred in her struggle. 

Olivia made quick work of cleaning up the mess and tossed the bloodied wipes into a plastic bag. "Here." She said, pulling out a beige sweater of her own. "Yours is dirty." She said simply, reaching for it. 

Strauss carefully pulled the sweater away from her body, handing it to Olivia, who set it aside. Olivia watched as the woman pulled the new one over her head and crossed her arms over her body, steadying her nerves. 

"It's not my place, but I'm saying it anyway." Olivia said firmly. "That team, every single one of them. They are superheroes at their job. The absolute best you will ever find. And the only way they function, is together...because they are the only people in the world who know what it's like."

She reached over and pulled out a water bottle, handing it to the woman in front of her. "I have to get back to work." She said before exiting the vehicle and throwing her go-bag in the trunk again before joining the rest. 

Back at the station the team was in the conference room once again. 

"What's around the dump site?" Hotch asked the detective as they stood in front of a map. "not much, old factories. None of them visible from the highway."

"You don't end up there by accident." Emily sighed. 

"So we go back to the schools. We eliminate the third ward, and we target problem kids whose fathers have held blue-collar jobs in the last ten years."

"What if he's not a problem kid?" Spencer asked. 

"What?" Derek asked. 

"Forget it. It's off the textbook profile..." Reid said shaking his head.

"No- that's a great idea actually." Olivia said, meeting his eyes, her own brain already working out the details. 

"What is it?" Aaron asked. 

"Sometimes, when a parent is unstable, especially if the other one's out of the picture, you'll do anything to be the perfect child." 

"Like help your father abduct women?" Emily asked, skeptically.

"Exactly like that. You'll do anything to made them happy, make their lives easier." Olivia added

"They're never late for school. Even with the abductions, the disposal of the bodies, It's always timed perfectly so the kid will be on time for school. The killer wouldn't care- the kid would." Spencer finished. 

"I'll get Garcia on it." Hotch said, pulling out his phone as he left the room. 

The team spread out again, going back to the schools with the new profile. Within an hour they had their family. 

JJ got on the phone and immediately told the rest of the team the address. As they all descended on the simple blue-shuttered bungalow they formed a plan. 

Aaron and Derek began peeking through windows to see if they could see anything. He sent JJ and Spencer around back to keep watch. 

"The boy's alone in the family room." Aaron informed the rest of the team. 

"Where are the other agents?" Strauss asked. 

"Covering the other side. They have an eye line just in case someone tries to sneak out the back." Derek explained.

"Is there any sign of the nurse or the dad?" Emily asked. 

"Nothing."

"So what are we doing here?" The detective asked. 

"Call in SWAT, set up a perimeter, and wait for him to come out." Strauss said calmly. 

"Ma'am, he's holding a woman inside." The man protested. 

"We don't know that for certain." She fired back. "We don't have probable cause."

Aaron sighed, "She's right."

"If he's got her, he waits 48 hours. He's not going to kill her yet."

Derek sighed, "He's changed the pattern of the dump sites, now he's changed how he abducts them. Do we really want to gamble that he's sticking to the rest of the model?" He asked. 

"So let's pound on the door, maybe he'll panic." The detective said.

"But he could spook just enough to kill her early." Olivia said. 

"Let me go in alone." Emily said suddenly. 

"Um, hell no." Olivia said sternly. 

"The boy's in the family room, he'll answer the door."

Olivia crossed her arms. "Did you not hear me?" 

"No." Strauss said. 

"Thank you." Olivia nodded. 

"We need to get in that door. He's looking for female authority figures, if he lets me in, I can signal as soon as I see anything that gives us cause."

"Well you're not going alone." Olivia said, reaching for her weapon. 

"Agent, stand down." Strauss said to Olivia. "And technically you're not even in the FBI." She pointed out to Emily. 

"All the better." Hotch said, sparking the team to move into place. 

"You're interfering with an investigation." Strauss protested. 

"If I'm no longer in the FBI then you have no authority over me." Emily stood her ground. "I'm just a civilian knocking on a door."

"Prentiss." Derek said, handing her his ankle weapon. 

Olivia handed her her cell phone. "As soon as you have probable cause you give us a signal."

"And then you get out of there." Hotch added firmly.

Olivia nodded. "We've got you." She said, offering a small smile.

"Thanks." Emily smiled and tucked the weapon into her waist band at her back before heading up the sidewalk. Derek and Olivia moved on either side of her to flank the door. 

Emily knocked on the door and a moment later it opened. "Hi." She said, bending down to meet the boy's level. "Are you David? I'm Emily. Your dad asked me to come by."

"He's busy."

"Would it be okay if I came in and waited?" Emily asked and the boy shrugged, letting her inside. "I guess so."

"Thank you."

The door closed and clicked shut and Olivia and Derek moved into position. The made their way around to the side of the house, trying to find an eye line. They may their way around to JJ and Reid, handing them vests. 

"Emily is inside, we're waiting on her go." Derek said. 

They nodded and Spencer made eye contact with Olivia. The look on his face very familiar to her now. He sent her a subtle nod which she reciprocated before following Morgan back the way she came. 

Suddenly Olivia heard a noise coming from her earpiece. "Derek, stop." She said firmly. She tried to focus on the noise. 

"What is it?"

"Do you hear that?" She asked, pointing to her ear. 

Suddenly she could clearly hear the sounds of the buttons of a phone being pressed. "That's Emily."

"Go." Hotch said through the earpiece, and they kicked through the front door as JJ and Reid came through the back. 

Olivia and Derek followed their unit chief down the stairs to the back room where the unsub had Emily pinned on the floor and another woman tied up nearby. 

The scariest part, was little David holding Emily's gun and pointing it at them as they passed through the door. 

"Drop the weapon, son." Hotch instructed as he stepped towards him. "Give me the gun."

Olivia reached out to help Emily off the floor and pulled her behind her out of harms way as Derek zeroed in in the unsub. 

"It's okay." The man told his son. "Do what they say." The boy lowered the weapon enough for Aaron to pull it from his hands and then Derek reached out and pressed the father onto the nearby wall to cuff him. 

Once the man was secure, Olivia turned to Emily. "You okay, lady?' She teased, reaching out to lift her face up by her chin to inspect the damage done. 

"Yeah, yeah." Emily said, swatting her hand away from her face. 

"And this is why, we don't go in alone." Olivia chastised. 

Wasn't my fault." Emily reminded her. 

"This time."

Back outside the house Hotch turned to Olivia. "How's Prentiss?" He asked.

"She's gonna need some steri-strips, but she's fine." She said gesturing over to where Emily sat in the back of the ambulance. He nodded and went over to her. 

"You think they're going to stay?" Spencer asked. 

"I hope so." Olivia said quietly. She turned to him properly, "Still no word from Gideon?" She asked. 

Spencer shook his head. "Hotch said he's probably at his cabin, so... I'll try there when we get back."

OIivia nodded, "Do you want me to go with you?" She asked gently.

He looked up and met her eye with a warm smile. "No, that's okay. Thank you though."

"Whatever you need." She said with a smile of her own. 

***

Olivia was woken up by the ringing of her cell phone. She mumbled and reached out for it on her side table. "Please don't be a case." She grumbled before looking at the caller ID: Spencer. 

"Hey." She said, accepting the call. "Not that I don't appreciate the attention, but it's really early in the morning, Or do geniuses not sleep?" She teased. 

She was met with a long period of silence. "Spencer?" She asked, sitting up. "Are you okay?"

"He's gone." Spencer's tired voice came through.

"What?" She asked, turning on her side table light. 

"Gideon. He left a note."

Olivia crossed her legs under her and tried to focus. "Hold on. Start over. What's happening?" 

"I'm at Gideon's cabin." Spencer clarified. "He's gone. Everything is gone. All he left were his badge, gun and a note."

"A note?"

"A letter. For me. He knew I was going to come here."

"Goddamn profilers. Oh Spence." Olivia sighed. "Are you still there?"

"I'm in the car."

"Come here. I'll still be awake."

She could hear his heavy sigh on the other end. "No. I-I'm going to go home. I can't..."

"You can't what?" She asked softly. 

"I can't be normal right now."

"You never have to be normal. Normal is overrated." She said matter of factly. 

Spencer chuckled. "Um...we have the day off tomorrow. Could you..." he said, trailing off, unsure of how to say it out loud. 

"I'll be there." She promised. 

A look of relief flashed across his face, glad she couldn't see it. "Thanks. I'll... I'll see you then."

"Drive safe, please." She reminded him. 

"I will."


	56. Scared to Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I know you've all been waiting for shameless smut. ;)

"Spence?" Olivia called out as she knocked on his apartment door. She adjusted the strap on her bag that rested heavily on her shoulder and tried again. "Spencer." 

She finally heard footsteps at the door opened soon after to reveal the man in denim and a sweatshirt, his hair dripping at the ends. 

"Sorry." He said, stepping aside to let her in. "I was in the shower."

"That's okay." She answered taking in the space around her. The dark leather, the bookshelves overflowing with hard copies. It was all uniquely him. 

Olivia heard the faint click of him locking the door and turned around, holding up a paper bag. "I brought dinner." She said, smiling. 

"I'll get plates." Spencer said with a small smile of his own. 

Olivia followed him into the kitchen and sat at one of the chairs, watching as he gathered what they needed. Her eyes wandered over his form as he did. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you wear jeans." She commented as she admired his lean legs from her spot. 

"I usually don't." He said, coming to join her at the table. He set out plates and cutlery for them as Olivia pulled the containers from the bag. 

"You went to that Indian place." Spencer said, opening his container and smiling at her. 

Olivia shrugged, trying to hide a blush. "I figured you could use a pick-me-up." Spencer reached over and took her hand in his. 

"Thank you."

They ate quickly and in silence, Spencer didn't let go of her hand until he stood to clear the table. Olivia followed, helping him clean up the mess. When she passed him at the kitchen sink, she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged his back towards her. "Hey." She said quietly, her cheek pressed against his spine. 

She felt him gradually relax into her touch. "Hey." He whispered back. 

"You've been quiet all evening." She said simply, letting her observation hang there in the air. 

Spencer sighed, "I know... I just..." He trailed off, running his hands over hers. "I don't know what to say."

"Okay." Olivia said, pulling her arms back. Spencer felt her pull away and spun around to face her. "Don't go." He whispered, looking down at her, his eyes filled with hurt. 

Olivia smiled and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere." She promised him. She watched as relief covered his features and he visibly relaxed. Again he placed his own hand over hers before leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her lips. 

When he pulled away, he pressed his lips to her forehead and wrapped his own arms around her, holding her tight. Olivia gently rubbed circles into his back and breathed in the comforting, clean smell of his shampoo and soap. 

"Go sit." She said, quietly. "I'll be there in a second." Spencer nodded, slowly letting her go and heading towards the couch in the living room. 

She watched as he collapsed into the cushions with a heavy sigh and make quick work of gathering what she needed from the kitchen. She pulled two large mugs down from the cupboard and selected some mint and camomile tea. She waited, leaning against the counter as the water began to boil. 

When it did, she carefully poured the water and while the tea steeped she took a mug in each hand and walked over to Spencer on the couch. 

"For you." She said, handing him one of the mugs. 

"Thank you." He smiled and sat up properly to make room for her next to him. 

Olivia curled herself into that spot and smiled as Spencer placed his free arm across her shoulders to pull her even closer into his side. They sat there like that for a long moment, sipping their tea before he finally spoke up. "The note." he said, pointing to a folded piece of paper on his desk across the room.

Olivia stayed quiet and just let him talk. "He said, when he lost Sarah, he had lost...lost his reason for staying...for believing in what we do. That it haunted him." He sighed. 

"I just...If I knew...maybe there was something I could do for him. Be there for him like he was for me. Something. " He pulled his arm back and leaned forward, placing his mug on the coffee table before dropping his head into his hands roughly. 

"He didn't even give me a chance." He said quietly. "He was always preaching about reaching out and leaning on people for help...but he just...ran away. He left everything behind." He murmured. 

Olivia set her own mug on the table and ran her hand over his back. "I may not know about the details of Gideon's life, or what goes on in that man's head. But I know one thing for sure. The only thing he had the most confidence in in this world, is you. It's the same reason he left you that letter. He knew you would be okay without him."

"But I'm not." Spencer said, looking up at her, his eyes red and wet with tears. 

"You will be." She said quietly, reaching up to push his still damp hair away from his eyes and ran her thumb over the stubble on his jaw. 

"Will I?" He asked quietly.

"Yes." Olivia nodded, pulling him towards her in a tight hug, 

"Everything you've been through, Spence...this isn't going to break you. You're the strongest." She murmured as her fingers played with the wet curls at the base of his neck.

She felt him snuggle into the crook of her neck like a child seeking comfort. "You've always got me too." She added softly. "And I'll keep reminding you."

Spencer chuckled and pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you." He said. 

"Oh I'm sure you'd find another pretty girl to snuggle up with." She teased, reaching for her mug again when Spencer reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist, stopping her.

"That's- that's not..." He said looking at her seriously, his eyes searching hers desperately trying to find the right words to say. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't..." Olivia shook her head. 

"I..." Spencer released his hold on her arm and reached for each side of her face, holding her gently despite the fierceness in his expression. "I..." He cleared his throat, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back at her. 

"In this exact moment...I understand it. What he felt. Losing Sarah..." He said softly, brushing his thumb gently over her cheek. "Losing who..."

Olivia felt her nose prickle with the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "I am right here." She whispered, her voice cracking as she reached out and placed her hands over his wrists. "Right now. And I'm telling you, Spencer. No matter what, I've got you." 

He kept his eyes locked on hers, his expression finally settling as if his mind was satisfied. One hand briefly left her face to tuck a stray curl behind her ear and resuming it's place before Spencer leaned forward and placed his lips over hers. 

Olivia's eyes fluttered shut as her hands shifted to splay across his chest, grasping at the fabric of his sweatshirt as she reciprocated the kiss. 

His hold on her was firmer now as Olivia's lips parted, granting him access. Her own arms going around him once again to pull him closer. Spencer caught on quickly and gently lowered her down across the couch, using his new position on top of her to deepen the kiss. Every emotion that was pent up in him from the past week he was pouring into her and she willingly accepted it all, moaning against his lips in response. 

That sound was electric, sending a shock wave down Spencer's spine that was so foreign, yet so delightful as it coursed through him. Olivia's shirt had lifted and his hands brushed against the soft skin, exploring further. His large hand found it's way up her back and held her to him. 

They pulled apart for air, both breathing heavily as they stared at one another. Spencer didn't wait, he placed his lips hurriedly against her face, down her jaw, behind her ear and into the crook of her neck which instantly brought a strangled gasp from Olivia's lips. Making quick note of that particular piece of information, Spencer repeated the motion, his mouth exploring every inch of that warm flesh as he felt her heart beat quicken. 

"Spence-" Olivia gasped, placing her hands on his chest to ground herself. 

He pulled back, staring down at her. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly, afraid he had gone too far. 

"So much more than okay." She smiled, taking a deep breath. He smiled back, nuzzling against the hand that she brushed through his hair. She sighed, "As much as I want to keep going..." She said quietly. 

Spencer dropped his head a bit, clearing his throat. "No- I know." He said, turning his head to place a kiss on her wrist. "It's not exactly...super romantic." 

Olivia chuckled, causing the same reaction to emerge from Spencer's lips. "I can continue this though, right?" He asked before he leaned back down and kissed her again. 

"Oh absolutely."


	57. Scared to Death pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene gets me every time. Seriously. I die laughing, no matter how many times I watch it. You know the one! ;) I hope my version does it justice and adds a little something extra for you!

The next day was...hard. There wasn't much to do except paperwork, and then when that was finished, no one was able to think of anything except Gideon's sudden departure once they were informed. Spencer fell back into his slump the minute he saw the man's empty office. Olivia was unsure of what to do to comfort him. They had agreed to continue their relationship but not do anything at work to risk jeopardizing either. 

Eventually when the maintenance crew arrived to clear out his office Garcia stepped in. She wouldn't let anyone else go through the man's things so she offered to do it herself. Armed with moving boxes she set out on her task, pausing momentarily to tell the team the things she found. 

"Gideon left everything." She said sadly, "Even his photographs."

"He always said they were like his family." Spencer said, his voice visibly hurt. 

They looked around at each other, no one knowing what else to do. "What should we do with all of this?" Penelope asked as she headed back in with another empty box. 

"Agent Kallis." A female voice said behind Olivia. She immediately turned and stood when she noticed it was their section chief seeking her attention. The rest of the team watched as Strauss handed her a folded sweater. "I took the liberty of washing it for you." She said quietly. 

"Thank you, ma'am." Olivia said with a polite smile. 

"Thank you." The woman nodded before continuing on to Hotch's door. 

"That was surprisingly...nice of her." Emily commented, sipping her coffee. 

"A woman of few words." Olivia said, resuming her own seat and putting the sweater back into her go-bag. 

"Hey guys, "JJ said stepping out of her office and into the bullpen. "We've got a case. I'm gonna go rescue Hotch."

"See you in there." Derek said as the group began to make their way to the conference room. 

Spencer and Olivia settled into their routine spots, side-by-side, while the rest spread themselves throughout the room. The notable lacking presence of Jason was clear as they all sat silently and waited. 

In a few minutes JJ returned with Hotch, "Okay, we have four victims in Oregon." She began, handing out files, "Two male, two female-"

"I got this." Hotch said, interrupting her. 

"Uh, sure." She said, taking a seat as Hotch turned to the group. 

"I know that we've all been wondering what this was all about." Hotch said, looking at them all. "And, uh...you know I've known Jason for many years, and I can tell you I have no idea." He said, directing the last part towards Spencer. "But it doesn't even matter. What matters is, we're here. And we're gonna continue." He finished before switching topics. 

"Portland field office uncovered a mass grave with three bodies, killed six months ago. Nearby they found another body. Causes of death range from burning alive to asphyxiation. No sexual assault." He said, bringing up the pictures on the screen. 

"Well, the torture's clearly sadistic." Derek said, putting down his coffee mug. 

"The lack of sexual preferences could make it hard to tell if the unsub is male or female." Spencer added. 

"Typically female serial killers stick to the same m.o., this guy's all over the place." Emily said, looking closer at the images. 

"How long was the current victim missing?" Olivia asked. 

"She was never reported missing." Aaron replied. Spencer raised his head at that, his hands stopped taking notes. "What about the others?" He added. 

"Only one."

"One of four victims were reported missing?" Olivia clarified. 

"JJ pointed to a photograph, Rick Holland was reported missing six months ago, but the search was called off. Family discovered his car at the train station, and they also received e-mails from him saying that he needed time to figure things out."

"And his family bought that?" Derek asked, unimpressed. 

"I guess the alternative could have been to hard to accept." Hotch said. 

"Reaching out...could be a sign of remorse." Spencer offered. 

"Psychopaths don't apologize for their behaviour- this guy's covering his tracks."

"Well clearly it's working." Emily said quietly. 

***

Not a lot of productivity happened on the jet before Penelope called with a new update just as Spencer returned with a cup of fresh coffee. 

He didn't hear the computer ding to announce her arrival, but when she could only see the bottom half of the man's body she smirked. "Hey. You." She whispered, causing him to look around in confusion. 

"Uh, down here." She clarified. 

Spencer chuckled, taking his seat. "I knew that." He said, covering up his momentary embarrassment. 

"Good thing you're handsome, Doctor." Penelope smirked before delivering her new information. Spencer couldn't help but darting his eyes towards Olivia, who was staring purposefully down at her case file with a smirk of her own that she was trying desperately to hide. 

Spencer smiled, more relaxed now as his mind flashed back to their previous evening together. He was brought back to the moment by Hotch's voice. "This guy's creative. Let's go over the details one more time to make sure we haven't missed anything."

Immediately after arriving at the station the team split up, Hotch took Derek, Spencer and Olivia with him to investigate the latest victim's apartment while JJ and Emily stayed back to start working on victimology. 

"Wittman's apartment is on the fourth floor." Spencer said as the elevator opened. He and Derek immediately stepped inside, realizing that there wasn't any room left for the others. 

"I'll...meet you guys up there." Aaron said, already heading for the stairs. Olivia raised her eyebrows at the tight squeeze and pointed her thumb towards their boss' retreating figure. "I'm with him." She agreed. 

"So." She began as she hustled to meet his stride almost half way up the first floor. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, glancing back at her. 

"Something's going on with you, Aaron. Don't think I haven't noticed. I've known you too long."

The man let out a deep sigh and stopped momentarily before continuing up the stairs. "Can we just- not this exact moment, okay?" He asked as they neared the top. 

"Okay." She said, placing a hand on his arm. "Maybe over a drink." She said nonchalantly. 

"Yeah, that sounds much better." He smiled, relieved.

They started down the hallways and looked around for Morgan and Reid, they couldn't find either. 

"How did we beat them here?" Olivia mumbled as she headed towards the elevator. As she neared the bell dinged and the two all but tumbled out of the small space, wobbly and out of breath. 

"Hallelujah." Morgan murmured as he leaned against the solid wall beside them. 

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Olivia said, noting their white faces. "You okay?"

"I'll get back to you on that." Spencer said carefully. 

"Okay." Olivia chuckled as she and Hotch passed them and headed on towards the apartment. 

Hotch met the landlord who let them in. "The FBI was already here two days ago. Didn't find anything."

"We're not looking at evidence." Olivia said, entering the space. "We're looking at her behaviour." They all looked around at the sheer clutter and mess of the room. 

"This place sure has a lived-in feel to it." Spencer observed. "No messages on the answering machine."

"Hey guys." Derek said, getting their attention. They followed him into the bathroom. "There's bath products all around the tub, but she never turned this shower on." He said gesturing to the small glass-enclosed space. 

"What makes you say that?" The landlord asked from behind Hotch. Derek opened the door of the shower to reveal several moving boxes that were stacked inside. 

"Did anything ever strike you as odd about Jenny?" Spencer asked. 

"You know what? When she moved in here two months ago, she walked up and down those stairs a hundred times. She wouldn't use the elevator."

Derek scoffed, "I don't blame her." He said, looking over at Reid. 

Olivia gave them both a perplexed look as Hotch and the landlord walked away. "Very strange men." She said before exiting the room herself.


	58. Scared to Death pt.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liv makes me giggle.

"Okay, we know this guy used Wildwood trail as his own personal graveyard for six months. That site's been blown for him now. Which means that he's been forced to change part of his m.o.." Derek said as he paced in front of the group of officers they were giving the profile to. 

"This won't be easy for someone who thrives on being in control." Aaron explained from his seat. "The reason that he's gotten away with these first three murders, is that he's meticulous with his murders in every stage, from how he chooses his victims, to their torture and their burial."

"To us, his victims appear to be non-specific, other than them being new to Portland, all they seem to have shared was a torturous death." Emily added. 

"But you think the unsub chooses them for another reason too?" The detective asked. 

"Yes. The tortures lack a sexual component, which is incredibly rare. It has to be more about, uh, not necessarily about exerting power, but more like overcompensating for a lack of it." Spencer explained. 

"This guy craves control, It comes from a place of weakness." Olivia added. "Like a moth to a flame, he's taking every opportunity to demonstrate strength. This comes up a lot in unsubs who were previously abused. The lack of sexual assault could come from nothing other than being impotent, something he's trying to conceal."

Emily followed up, "A man this obsessed with control most likely feels powerless in his everyday life. So he would crave stability, security. He's most likely married. If he is impotent, he could keep up appearances by adopting children."

"Yeah, and someone this methodical has every moment planned. If he is captured, he'd most likely take his own life rather than give up any sort of control." Spencer extrapolated. 

Derek continued, "The lack of defensive wounds on the victims suggest that they willingly put themselves in danger. So, someone of authority or otherwise easily trusted put them up to this. And the their families were led to believe that their loved ones were alive and well through e-mails written by this murderer. "

"He's intelligent. We're going to have to do something...that he's not expecting." Hotch finished. 

***

"Hey." Spencer said as he set a fresh cup of coffee in front of Olivia before taking a seat beside her.

"Hey, thank you." She smiled, taking a sip.

"JJ giving the press conference?" He asked, making himself comfortable. 

"Yeah." She said, gesturing over to where the rest of the team was watching the TV screen from the other side of the bullpen. 

"So..." She said, trailing off as she played with the rim of the cup. 

"So?" Spencer mimicked, unsure of where she wanted to go with this conversation. 

"You, uh... You wanna talk about what happened in the elevator this morning?" She teased. 

Spencer hung his head as his face turned beet red. "Ugh." He grumbled. Olivia laughed, clearly enjoying his momentary mortification. 

"You boys get a little scared in the small box?" She said, egging him on. 

Spencer chuckled, hiding his expression with his coffee. "See, you laugh now, but you wouldn't be making fun of me if I had plummeted to my death."

"Remind me to pack my mourning outfit with me next time." She giggled, unable to keep a straight face as Emily approached. 

"What's so funny over here?" She asked curiously. 

"Well-"  
"Nothing." Spencer said, cutting Olivia off. It only succeeded in her erupting into more giggles, "What's up, Em?" she asked eventually.

"Hotch Is cutting the chord. Says we should all get some rest so we have fresh eyes in the morning." 

"Ooh. Sounds good to me." Olivia agreed, reaching for her go-bag and jacket. 

"Alright, I'll meet you guys out front?" Emily asked. 

"Thanks." Spencer said, gathering his things. 

***

When the team arrived back at the hotel JJ handed out the room keys. Together they headed towards the elevators and climbed on. Before Derek could step inside Olivia reached out and put a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Are you sure you can handle it?" She asked in mock seriousness. 

"Okay serious?" Derek said, looking over at Reid who held up his hands in defense. 

"I already got it back at the station." Spencer said with a chuckle. 

The rest of the team looked at them with confusion, except for Hotch who had a rare amused smile on his face. Derek playfully hip-checked the woman backwards into the elevator, making room for himself. 

"Can I handle it?- Girl, who are you talking to?" He mumbled as he pressed the button for their floor. 

"A scaredy cat." Olivia mumbled back with a smirk as the doors closed. 

Back in her room, Olivia had just stepped out of the shower when she heard a soft knock on her door. She threw the oversized t-shirt over her head and pulled her hair out, letting it fall down her back in a mess of wet waves. She raised up on her toes to glance through the peep hole and opened it immediately when she recognized Spencer on the other side. 

"Does the doctor make house calls now?" She asked with a smile as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. When he turned back to face her, he took her in properly this time. The oversized shirt falling to the middle of her thighs and even though the fabric was dark and baggy, it didn't hide the curves of her body underneath. 

"Wow." He mumbled, dropping his bag to the floor.

"What?" Olivia asked, taking in his expression. 

"You look..." He cleared his throat, "um...amazing."

Despite her blush Olivia chuckled, "You've seen me on dates, Spence. I like to think I can do better than this."

"I know." Spencer said, stepping towards her and placing his hands on her waist. "And you do. But this is...different." He said, dropping his forehead down to hers and breathing in the comforting scent of her shampoo. 

"Intimate." She finished for him and reached up, taking a hold of his chin and gently bringing his face down to hers in a sweet kiss. 

He pulled back and ran his hand over the damp hair that was tumbled down her back. "Very much so." 

"Do you want to stay for a while?" Olivia asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Spencer met her dark eyes and in a moment, all other thoughts vanished from his mind.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, how about now? Still not gonna comment, huh?


	59. Scared to Death pt.4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew you were waiting. But also, how did I get to 60 chapters already?!

The next morning Olivia woke before her alarm, flinching at the bright sunlight that streamed through the window. She rolled over onto her back and rubbed at her eyes, trying to wake herself up. From the corner of her eyes she caught the sight of Spencer, hair messy and strewn out on the pillow next to her.

Yup- that makes sense. She thought to herself, she glanced over to see the television still on in the corner of the room, the volume muted. They had fallen asleep watching whatever movie they managed to find on cable last night to unwind.

She rolled over carefully and watched him as he slept, his features relaxed and soft. She smiled as she remembered the two of them curled up last night, feeling so incredibly safe and secure in his arms as he absently played with her hair. That was the last thing she remembered before waking next to him. 

She checked the clock and decided she could wait a few more minutes before waking him up. She studied his expression carefully, the creases on his face from the pillow, the indent from his watch against his skin. 

She saw his eyes begin to twitch subtly as he started to wake up and smiled instinctively at the expression. His eyes opened and focused on her face, his eyebrows raised in momentary surprise before he remembered where he was. 

"Hey." He whispered, reaching up to rub his eyes. 

"Good morning." Olivia replied, pulling the sheets closer around them. 

"Mmm. We fell asleep." He observed, rolling further onto his back and stretching his arms out over his head. 

Olivia chuckled and watched as he made himself comfortable. "Just a little bit." She smiled. 

Spencer closed his eyes again and smiled as his own laugh rumbled in his chest. 

"We should get up." Olivia sighed. "We're going to get called soon anyway." She sat up and started to climb out of bed when Spencer reached over and wrapped his hand around her wrist. 

"Hey." He said, tugging her back towards him and placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Good morning." He whispered, brushing his nose against hers. 

Olivia couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Good morning." She whispered back.

The moment was interrupted as both of their cell phones started to ring, causing Spencer to groan and turn around, reaching for his on the side table. "Called it." He murmured, looking at the screen. 

Olivia chuckled and headed towards the bathroom. "You should change." She said over her shoulder. 

Spencer looked down at the rumpled outfit he had fallen asleep in yesterday. "Yeah." He sighed to himself. 

***

"M.E. Identified the body, It's Patrick Walker. He's got deep abrasions and bruising on the neck and shoulders." The detective said as he met Emily, Derek and Olivia at the newest crime scene. 

"I'll ask Garcia if they found anything else in the water." Derek said, walking away from the two women. 

"This is the guy the landlady called you about, right?" Olivia asked as they watched the crime scene team work on the other side of the tape. 

"Yeah. And It's a perfect match to the other victims. He fits the profile to a T." Emily said. 

"Same age, lives alone, new to the city." Olivia agreed. "And since we found the dump site... He had get...creative." She sighed. 

Derek returned and ducked back under the crime scene tape. "They found a rope at the bottom of the river, but I don't think it's related. However, a couple feet out, they found this." He said holding up a large blue plastic hook. 

"A shepherd's crook?" Olivia asked. 

"Mmmhmmm. Lifeguards and rescue workers use them."

"Oh I bet he didn't use it for safety." Emily scoffed. 

"Detective." Olivia asked as the man approached them. "Do you remember any open cases involving suspicious drownings?" 

The man nodded, "Since I've been in Portland, we've had two or three. I can call the office, get the files to your other agents, maybe they can make a connection." 

"Thank you."

Derek's cell phone rang and he picked it up, "Yeah Hotch." He nodded towards the other two and headed towards the SUV. "Okay, we're on our way."

"You guys have anything new?" Emily asked when they arrived back at the station. 

"Reid has a lead." Hotch said, gesturing to the man. 

Olivia looked over and her mind momentarily froze. He had changed into a fresh shirt after he left her room that morning. A white button down with a tie, but the part that she noticed was how he was effortlessly rolling up his shirt sleeves to reveal his forearms as he stood and walked over to the board. 

Damnit, again. She mentally chastised herself and focused in on what he was saying. "Yeah, it hit me when Morgan freaked out when we were stuck in the elevator." He explained.

"Oh- I get it now!" Emily said, pointing to Olivia who couldn't hide the smirk any longer. 

"I freaked?!" Derek said. 

"It doesn't matter right now- here's what does." Spencer said, "If you look at all of the victims, what do they have in common?" They could all be classified as anxiety disorders. It's right out of the diagnostics and statistics manual, it lists five types of phobias."

"Most of these are environmental and situational." Hotch said, understanding. 

"Exactly."

"So it's all about fear." Olivia said. 

***

"There are no tenants in this building." The detective said pointing to the name board in the lobby. "These must all be fake names."

"Helps with the ruse." Derek said, pointing to the name they wanted, "Goodman's on the fifth floor."

Olivia pulled out her weapon and follower Hotch and Morgan up each flight of stairs until they arrived. They spread themselves out, clearing each room until they met back in the middle at the man's office.

"Clear." Derek announced.

"Back area's clear too." Olivia said, walking through the door as Spencer pulled open the shades over the windows. 

"Missy Cassell was the last person to sign in." Hotch said as they began searching through papers on the desk. "When was that?" Spencer asked.

"25 minutes ago. Alright, let's spread out, Calvert, you and Reid take the west side, Olivia and I will go south." Derek said, following her out the door. They made it back down to the main floor and outside when Olivia spotted motion above them. "I got him." She said, drawing his attention.

Derek looked up, "Stan Howard, FBI. Stay right where you are!" He yelled at the man. 

Olivia raised her mic to her lips, "Aaron, get to the roof, now." She said as she following their direction on the ground. 

A moment later they saw Hotch ahead of them hurrying up the stairs after the man. "It's over. You know this is the easy way out." Aaron said as he neared the man on the top ledge of the building. Olivia found her vantage point and aimed her weapon, slowing down her breathing. 

"You know you'll never get over your fear by killing yourself, or your patients." Aaron said, trying to reason with him as he looked out around him where officers and fire trucks were starting to assemble. 

"Most people go into law enforcement because they want to help others." The man said, looking back at Hotch. "I think your greatest fear is that you can't save everyone." He said calmly, tucking his glasses into his coat pocket.

"Don't do it." Olivia murmured under her breath. 

"It is worse than I thought." The man said before leaning forward, away from Aaron's reach where he fell to his death.

Olivia rushed forward from her position, despite the blood and looked down at the man. She sighed and looked back up at her teammates, shaking her head. 

"We found Missy's car in the parking lot behind the building. Howard's car is out back." The detective said once they all made their way down to Olivia on the ground.

"Before he jumped he said my biggest fear is not being able to save everybody." The unit chief said flatly. 

Derek stepped in, "Hotch, the guy wasn't well in the head, you know that."

"No- I know that. What I think he meant was that she's here somewhere." Hotch clarified. 

"And she's still alive." Olivia said as Reid stepped outside and startled himself with the site in front of him. "Uh... I went through his journals inside and I found Missy's. She was going on a cave-diving trip. She wasn't scared of the water- but she was terrified of the walls crumbling down on her."

"So what's she afraid of?" The detective asked. 

"Being buried alive."

"Oh god." Olivia murmured. 

Hotch crouched down. "Guys, look at the dirt under his nails." He pointed out. 

"She has to be close." Olivia said looking around. "What would imitate..."

"Is there a basement in this building?" Aaron asked suddenly. 

"Yes."

The five of them hurried back into the building and down the stairs where they found a blackened basement unit with bags of dirt strewn around the floor. 

They shown their flashlights trying to find the girl when Hotch spoke up. "Guys, over here. Over here!" He began clearing away the top layer of dirt until a woman's hand was visible. "Oh my god." Derek said as the two men began furiously moving dirt away as quickly as they could. 

Hotch was about to climb into the hole on the other side to continue when Olivia stopped him. "Aaron, Aaron stop. I'm lighter." She explained before taking his place. The unit chief grabbed a hold of one of the back straps of her vest for leverage and she planted herself waist-deep into the dirt, digging down to reach as far as she could to grab the woman's body. 

"Okay, okay, Derek, Spence, grab her arm." Olivia said, taking a firm grip around her waist. "You got it?" She asked, grunting as the weight of her body started to give in the dirt. 

"Yeah I got it." 

"Hold her there." She instructed as she fought to dig further around her to get better purchase on her body. She forcefully pressed herself against the wall, her muscles protesting as she kept digging. 

"Okay, on my three. We have to do this in one shot or else I'm going to end up down there next, you ready?" She asked, She slipped her right arm as far under Missy's legs as she could reach and with her left she reached up and took hold of Aaron's hand. 

She made eye contact with them and counted. On three, she pushed up as hard as she could while the men pulled the woman up and out of the dirt. Aaron kept a tight hold on her as the dirt collected around her own body, she propped one knee up against the lip of the shaft while Hotch took hold of her vest again, pulling her up the rest of the way. 

She looked over as Morgan checked the woman's airway and Spencer called for the paramedics. "Missy. Missy." He said, calling out her name. 

"Come on, girl." Olivia murmured, leaning her weight onto her hands and knees while she fought to regain her breath. A moment later the woman began coughing and waking up, prompting Aaron to crouch down and place a hand on Olivia's shoulder. 

"Nice work." He chuckled as she hung her head forward in relief. 

***

Olivia pulled herself up the steps to the jet and was promptly greeted by warm cheers from the rest of the team. She was still covered in dirt and sweat, but she couldn't help but smile.

"There she is, there she is!" Derek said, clapping his hands. "You guys should have seen this little souvlaki throw herself into this pit of dirt and dig Missy out, It was pretty amazing. "

Olivia snorted at the nickname and took a seat on the couch across from him. 

"Oh Spence told us all about it." JJ said proudly as she took in her face. "You know, you've still got some dirt..." She said pointing to her own face. 

"Oh, honey I've got dirt everywhere." Olivia chuckled, "The first thing I'm doing when I get home, is taking a shower." She made eye contact with Spencer and smiled while the rest of the team moved on to another topic.

She looked around and spotted Aaron sitting by himself in the back of the plane, his back to the rest of them. She stood and poured out two glasses of scotch, making her way over to him. 

"You ready for that drink now?" She said, handing him the glass and sitting down beside him. 

"Wouldn't you rather sleep?" Aaron said, looking over at her.

"I'll sleep when I'm home." She said simply. "Right now I'm talking to you."

Hotch looked down into the glass. "Right." He sighed. 

"Right." she agreed. "Spill it."

"You know, there's an unspoken thing here, that we don't profile each other." He said pointedly. 

"I bet there is. Why don't you just tell me then, so I don't have to profile you." She said calmly, taking a sip of her glass. 

The look he shot her was part annoyance, part resignation. When she only raised an eyebrow in challenging response he finally gave in. He took a deep sip and looked down at his hands. "Haley's left." He said quietly. "And I don't know if she's coming back." 

He downed the rest of his glass and set it down on the table, finally looking back up at her. They looked at each other for a long moment. She tipped her own glass back, wincing at the burn as it travelled down her throat. Neither said anything as she set it down next to his, laced their hands together on the armrest and leaned onto his shoulder. Offering her silent support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to finish this work at the beginning of season 3...but I totally forgot and just kept posting chapters. So I'll end it here and start a new one! Ciao for now.


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